Game Night: Kings take on Predators in Music City
By Ed Stein
Tonight the Los Angeles Kings are on the road in Nashville to play the Predators. It’s an important game for both teams as they jockey for playoff positioning.
The Los Angeles Kings are in Nashville tonight to take on the Predators. LA has won three straight games to vault into third place in the division. They look to maintain their recent hot play and put themselves in good position for the postseason. A fact not lost on defenseman Jake Muzzin. He told NHL.com:
“We’ve got to keep winning. That makes everyone happy. If we keep playing the right way and keep doing the right things, we give ourselves a good chance to win every night. We’ll look to do that tonight.”
Jonathan Quick will return to the Kings crease tonight. It will be his first game action since suffering an injury on January 23 in Vancouver. Jeff Carter is back on the ice skating, but not ready to play yet. Based on the morning skate, here is the expected lineup:
Forwards
Iafallo-Kopitar-Toffoli
Pearson-Kempe-Brown
Clifford-Mitchell-Lewis
Gaborik-Shore-Andreoff
Defensemen
Doughty-Gravel
Muzzin-Martinez
Forbort-Folin
Goalies
Quick
Kuemper
In a Nutshell:
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What: Kings at Predators
When: 5:30 pm PST
Where: Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
TV: NBCSN
Records: Kings (27-18-5, 59 pts) – third place Pacific Division; Predators (29-12-7, 65 pts) – second place Central Division
The Los Angeles Kings are playing their second game since the NHL All-Star Break. On Tuesady, the Kings traveled to Dallas to take on the Stars. Two assists from Anze Kopitar and 28 saves by Darcy Kuemper led the Kings to a 3-0 victory.
That victory marked the first Kings shutout since January second against the Oilers and was their fifth of the season. Los Angeles’ 2.4 goals allowed per game is the best in the league while Nashville’s 2.5 goals allowed per game is the fifth-best. Thus, any gamblers may want to bet the under on the 5.5 goals total.
Next: Where does Corey Perry fit on the Ducks?
Thursday night’s game looks to be a defensive showcase filled with high intensity and many saves between Quick and Pekka Rinne.