WHO: Los Angeles Kings (26-16-10) vs. Nashville Predators (29-25-2)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME
WHEN: Thursday, February 22 @ 7:30 PM Pacific
WHERE: Crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: ESPN+ / Hulu – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The homestand continues for the Kings, as the Nashville Predators come to town to conclude the season series between the two teams.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Forward Alex Turcotte led the Kings with two points (1-1-2) when these teams met last month in Nashville, including his first career NHL goal, while forward Kevin Fiala has two points this season (1-1-2) against the club that drafted him. Forward Quinton Byfield has six points (3-3-6) from six career games played versus the Predators.
KINGS VITALS: Following a lightly attended practice day on Wednesday, the Kings returned to the ice this morning for a full-team skate.
Following consecutive starts from goaltender Cam Talbot, look for the Kings to go back to goaltender David Rittich tonight against his former club. Rittich was off the ice first this morning and has faced Nashville five times throughout his NHL career, including twice this season, posting a record of 3-1-1, with a .912 save percentage and a 3.17 goals-against average.
While the Kings did not take formal line rushes today, here’s an idea of how the team aligned this morning, based on jersey colors –
Laferriere – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Fiala
Lizotte – Dubois – Byfield
Lewis – Turcotte – Kaliyev
Anderson-Dolan
Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Roy
Englund – Clarke
Rittich / Talbot
Forward Blake Lizotte will return to the lineup tonight, per Head Coach Jim Hiller, and is expected to play on the wing, on a line with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Quinton Byfield. Lizotte skated yesterday in a full-contact jersey, though that skate had just four participants, and was in action again this morning. Lizotte still needs to be activated from long-term injured reserve, but that feels like a formality with Hiller’s comments this morning.
Forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan is also an option to check in, should the Kings opt for a lineup change up front. Defenseman Jordan Spence was assigned to the AHL yesterday morning, played last night for the Ontario Reign and is still with the AHL club. Viktor Arvidsson remains out with a lower-body injury. No formal update was provided this morning regarding Arvidsson’s timeline.
PREDATORS VITALS: The Predators are in the midst of a five-game roadtrip, which began with wins against St. Louis and Vegas.
Expect Nashville, playing on the frontend of a 3-in-4, to start goaltender Juuse Saros between the pipes. Saros has an all-time record of 5-2-1 against the Kings, with a .920 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against average.
Per Zach Gilchriest of NashvillePredators.com, here’s how the visitors lined up last time out in Vegas –
#Preds lines vs. #VegasBorn:
Forsberg – O’Reilly – Nyquist
Trenin – Sissons – Glass
Jankowski – Novak – Evangelista
Smith – McCarron – SherwoodJosi – Fabbro
McDonagh – Schenn
Lauzon – CarrierLankinen
Scratches: Afanasyev, Barrie, Gurianov
— Zach Gilchriest (@ZachGilchriest) February 21, 2024
Nashville forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist each have a goal and an assist versus the Kings this season, while defenseman Roman Josi has a pair of assists. Former Kings defenseman Luke Schenn is slated to line up on the second pairing against his former club. Nashville enters the evening tied for the last wild card position in the Western Conference.
Notes –
Lizotte Latest
Optimistic update regarding Blake Lizotte!
Excited to see him return to action tonight. He’s a player the Kings have missed and he’s a player the Kings are excited to get back into their lineup here this evening, with Jim Hiller confirming that he will be in tonight’s lineup.
“He’s a similar player to Arvy, he’s that…
This article was originally published by a lakingsinsider.com . Read the Original article here. .