Preview: Game Day #65, Penguins @ Kings

Pittsburgh Penguins @ Los Angeles Kings (Staples Center)

Time: 7:00 PM PST

TV: Fox Sports West, Root, SportsNet

Enemy Reading: Pensburgh

Lineups:

Pittsburgh Penguins

Perron–Crosby–Hornqvist
Kunitz–Malkin–Comeau
Bennett–Sutter–Winnik
Spaling–Lapierre–Adams

Martin–Letang
Scuderi–Cole
Pouliot–Lovejoy

Fleury
Greiss

Scratched: Downie; Injured: Dupuis, Maatta, Ehrhoff

Los Angeles Kings

Gaborik–Kopitar–Lewis
King–Carter–Toffoli
Brown–Stoll–Williams
Clifford–Shore–Nolan

Regehr–Doughty
McNabb–Sekera
Muzzin–Greene

Quick
(Jones)

Injured: Martinez, Pearson; Scratched: Andreoff, McBain; Suspended: Voynov

Notes:

• LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUC
• Since this game is going to at least partially be overshadowed by the unveiling of Luc Robitaille's statue, I'm going to partially overshadow this preview with Luc highlights. Can't say enough about the player or the man, so tune in early tonight (6:00 PM, Fox Sports West!) to see the festivities.
• This is a crucial game for LA, of course. Calgary keeps winning in spite of themselves, and with Vancouver two points ahead and San Jose two points behind, it's gonna be a tight race even with the Kings probably playing the best hockey at the moment.
• As for Pittsburgh? They still have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, they're a pretty comfortable third in the Metropolitan Division, and they made some moves at the deadline. That's why you'll see Ben Lovejoy, Daniel Winnik, and Ian Cole tonight wearing unfamilar garb. You might have stopped reading after Crosby/Malkin, which is fair; even Jake Muzzin isn't thinking too far beyond those two. From NHL.com:

  "Special players need special attention like that and you’ve got to be hard on them," Muzzin said. "Not really give them room. You want to limit their time as best as you can."

• Prediction: Dwight King scores, because it'd be appropriate for a slow left winger to find the back of the net tonight.