WHO: Los Angeles Kings (22-15-9) @ St. Louis Blues (25-20-2)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME
WHEN: Sunday, January 28 @ 11:00 AM Pacific
WHERE: Enterprise Center – St. Louis, MO
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Bally Sports West – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Kings visit St. Louis for the first time this season, in a battle of two teams separated by a single point in the Western Conference standings.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Forward Adrian Kempe led the Kings with two points (1-1-2) last time these two teams met, a 5-1 Kings victory at Crypto.com Arena. Kempe has four goals and six points versus the Blues over the last two seasons. Since the 2020-21 season, forward Kevin Fiala has 17 points (6-11-17) from 13 games played against the Blues, the fifth highest total across the NHL.
KINGS VITALS: Considering the afternoon puck drop, the Kings did not hold a morning skate today in Missouri.
Should goaltender David Rittich get the start today, after entering in relief on Friday in Colorado, he brings a career mark of 2-1-1 versus St. Louis, with a .882 save percentage and a 3.49 goals-against average. Should the Kings turn back to Cam Talbot between the pipes, he’s faced the Blues 23 times throughout his NHL career, with a record of 8-8-6, with a .896 save percentage and a 3.11 goals-against average.
With no morning skate today, unclear exactly how the Kings will align this afternoon. Friday’s lineup embedded below for reference, though there will be at least one change –
Tonight’s @LAKings Line Rushes –
Laferriere – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Fiala
Grundstrom – Dubois – Anderson-Dolan
Fagemo – Lewis – KaliyevAnderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Roy
Englund – ClarkeTalbot
RittichPer @LAKingsPR, Quinton Byfield is out tonight (illness)
— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) January 27, 2024
The Kings are expecting forward Quinton Byfield back in today’s lineup, after he missed Friday’s game with an illness. Expect Byfield back alongside Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe on the team’s top forward line. Additionally, the Kings recalled forward Alex Turcotte from the AHL’s Ontario Reign yesterday afternoon and he linked up with the team in St. Louis yesterday evening. Turcotte could make his season debut here today against the Blues. Defenseman Jordan Spence is also an option to check back in, should the Kings look for a change on the blueline.
BLUES VITALS: St. Louis has won its last four games entering today’s action, including consecutive 4-3 overtime wins, over Seattle and Vancouver, earlier this week.
Assuming usual starting goaltender Jordan Binnington returns between the pipes, he brings with him a 5-8-2 record against the Kings. Binnington has a .903 lifetime save percentage and a 2.97 goals-against average from 15 appearances versus Los Angeles.
Per Chris Pinkert of the Blues team website, here’s how St. Louis lined up last time out –
Forwards
Pavel Buchnevich – Robert Thomas – Jordan Kyrou
Brandon Saad – Brayden Schenn – Jake Neighbours
Nathan Walker – Kevin Hayes – Alexey Toropchenko
Nikita Alexandrov – Oskar Sundqvist – Sammy Blais
Defense
Nick Leddy – Colton Parayko
Torey Krug – Matthew Kessel
Marco Scandella – Scott Perunovich
Goalie
Jordan Binnington
Forward Robert Thomas ranks inside the NHL’s Top-20 in scoring this season in assists (34) and points (51). Former Kings forward Brayden Schenn is expected to center the second line tonight in St. Louis.
Notes –
A-Point, A-Part
All of a sudden, the Kings have two games before the NHL’s All-Star break against teams within a single point in the Western Conference standings.
Recent form is obvious – the Kings have just two wins from their past 15 games played in total and it’s brought them from a comfortable place in the Pacific Division standings to a wild-card berth as of this writing. The Kings have 53 points in the standings, one ahead of today’s…
This article was originally published by a lakingsinsider.com . Read the Original article here. .