LA Kings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: Gameday preview

Fresh off of a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the LA Kings travel to Pittsburgh to take on the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

The NHL season is a long slog to the playoffs which themselves are a marathon, so when teams like the LA Kings have the kind of game like they did against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday players must move on and forget about it.

The LA Kings’ 7-3 loss to the Hurricanes should be a warning sign that the Kings are going to have to play better the rest of the way or the playoffs won’t be attainable for the third time in four years.

Unfortunately for the Kings, they are in the midst of a seven-game-long road trip and it doesn’t get any easier Thursday night as they meet the two time defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Roughly a month ago the Penguins beat the Kings at Staples Center by a 3-1 margin on the strength of two goals by Patric Hornqvist. The Kings get a smaller measure of reprieve this time as Hornqvist has been out since February 2nd, due to a lower-body injury.

Despite the loss of Hornqvist, the Penguins will still be difficult for the Kings to deal with due to their deep roster and championship pedigree.  Here are the three keys to the game:

Three-Headed Monster

A Canadian, an American, and a Russian are the human engine that drives the Pittsburgh Penguins. Of course, I’m talking about Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, and Evgeni Malkin. The three players are the top three in points on the team and are among the top six in all of the NHL.

Kessel is the team leader in points, Malkin is the top goal scorer, and of course, Crosby is the playmaker leading the team in assists. Though they don’t play on the same line, they do constitute the strength of the top power play unit in the NHL.

The Kings might be able to neutralize one player but they’re going to have a difficult time of stopping all three. Since Kessel and Malkin play mostly on the same line that should be the focus of the Kings defense and hope that Crosby has an off night.

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In the midst of their loss to the Hurricanes, the Kings made a trade that they hope will get them back to playing a strong defensive game. The Kings acquired defenseman Dion Phaneuf and grinding forward Nate Thompson in a trade with the Ottawa Senators.

Phaneuf a veteran of 13 NHL seasons was brought in to bring veteran leadership and poise that has been sorely lacking for the Kings lately. The 7-3 loss to the Hurricanes was the third time the Kings gave up five or more goals in their last nine games. The Kings are hoping that Phaneuf will be able to help plug up the Kings leaky defense, however, he will not be an impact tonight due to Visa issues.

Thompson isn’t expected to score goals, but the Kings do hope his grit and grime play will help the Kings hold on to the puck and prevent the Penguins top forwards from pelting the Kings’ goal.

Next: Former Kings in the 2018 Winter Olympics

Stay out of the Box

The Kings were torched on Tuesday night by the Hurricanes power play unit as they gave up three goals on five power play chances. It doesn’t get any better for the Kings as they have to face the Penguins power play unit, the best in the NHL.

The LA Kings do get some help back, Dustin Brown will be playing again after serving a one-game suspension. Brown will be back on the penalty killing unit and will give the Kings enough forward depth to keep them fresh. If the Kings can’t stay out of the box again, then it will be another long night for the team.