Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks on Rivarly Night Prior to the NHL All-Star Break
Tonight the Los Angeles Kings will be at SAP Center to take on the San Jose Sharks. It’s the Kings last game before the team takes a week off for the NHL All-Star Break. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PST.
If you’re an L.A. Kings fan, you must be looking forward to the end of January.
To put it nicely, it has been an awful month for the Kings.
L.A. comes into tonight’s game on a three game skid. On Monday, the Kings lost to the Calgary Flames 2-1 in overtime despite taking a 1-0 lead in the third period and outshooting the Flames 34-23.
Saturday L.A. battled back and forth with their other California rival the Anaheim Ducks. Unable to score in the shootout the Kings lost 3-2.
A week ago Wednesday, the New Jersey Devils came to L.A. and blew the Kings out of their own building taking a 5-1 lead. L.A. scored two goals late to make the scoreboard look respectable, but there was nothing to be proud of in the performance.
The Kings are currently in 5th place in the Pacific Division with 52 points; one point behind Calgary. L.A. ranks 9th in the Western Conference, just on the outside of a playoff slot.
The Sharks are currenlty in 3rd in the Pacific Division with 54 points, so the race is tight. San Jose is 7th in the Western Conference.
San Jose is also on a two game skid, losing in similar fashion to the Flames and Devils. On Monday night the Devils were able to score two unanswered goals in the third period to take a commanding 5-2 lead, before coasting to victory.
Saturday the Sharks beaten by the Flames in 4-3 in overtime.
The two rivals have split games in their first to matches this season. On opening night – October 8th – the Sharks shutout the Kings 4-0. On December 27th, the most recent meeting, the Kings got some payback winning 3-1.
This will be the first meeting in San Jose; the previous two games were at Staples Center.
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Two very important points are at stake tonight on NBC’s Rivarly Night.
The Kings lineup is projected to be as follows:
Forwards:
Marian Gaborik – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown
Trevor Lewis – Jarret Stoll – Justin Williams
Dwight King – Nick Shore – Jeff Carter
Kyle Clifford – Mike Richards – Jordan Nolan
Defensemen:
Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Robyn Regehr – Alec Martinez
Brayden McNabb – Matt Greene
Goaltenders:
Jonathan Quick
Jean-Francois Berube
Quick will start between the pipes tonight. It’s a big matchup, and Quick usually rises to the occassion. Quick is coming off of a bad 2-1 loss to the Flames on Monday, but he played well. Using Monday’s loss as motivation, Quick could be in the zone tonight. With the way the Kings have played this month, they are going to need it.
Some changes to the Kings lines are expected.
Justin Williams is being bumped down to play alongside Jarret Stoll and Trevor Lewis. Moving Williams down well get the Kings 2nd/3rd line more grit, as all three players will dig in the corner. Williams will help balance out the skill with Stoll and Lewis.
Dustin Brown is moving up reuniting the Kings top line from the 2014 playoffs. Brown has been playing hard, trying to set an example for the team. The continuing problem is finding a way to get the puck in the net.
In Brown’s last 3 games he has 1 goal and 1 assist. In his last 10 games, Brown has 1 goal and 7 points. In his last 20 games, Brown has 1 goal, and 8 points.
Consistency is the name of the game the Kings have to crack.
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Sharks players to keep an eye on:
Joe Pavelski is taking over as the face of the franchise in San Jose. In 47 games this season Pavelski leads the Sharks in goals, points, power-play goals and shots. Pavelski has scored 23 goals, 41 points, registering 153 shots, a +9 plus/minus rating, and a massive 11 power-play goals. That’s as many power-play goals as Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Tommy Wingels and Logan Couture combined!
Pavelski plays all three phases, power-play, even strength, and penalty kill. He’s one of the hardest working forwards in the NHL. If there’s one Shark it will be easy to spot on the ice, it will be Pavelski.
Brent Burns is second on the Sharks in assists. In 47 games Burns has 11 goals, 24 assists, 35 points, and a -7 rating. Burns has 4 power-play goals of his own and can operate from multiple positions on the man-advantage unit.
Burns is big, physical and has a wicked slapshot from the point. Last season Burns played forward for the Sharks so he’s not averse or uncomfortable jumping up in the play, or working the puck along the boards and down-low into the Kings zone.
Burns is tough to knock off the puck, and judging by the number of assists can move the puck up ice, pinning the Kings in their own zone, or generating an odd-man rush off a bad shift change. Keep an eye out for Burns in tonight’s matchup.
Tonight is Jonathan Quick’s 29th birthday! Best wishes on the big 2-9 and the Kings helping their goalied get a birthday win, to head into the All-Star break.
It’s NBC’s Rivarly Night. It’s Kings vs. Sharks. Park your rump in front of a TV, it’s going to be a good one.
Go Kings Go!
December 27, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) and San Jose Sharks center Tommy Wingels (57) are separated by the official during the third period at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports