Mar 27, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) skates with the puck as Los Angeles Kings left wing Tanner Pearson (70) chases during the third period against at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Kings won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Kings will be in Pittsburgh tonight to take on the Penguins. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. PST (7:00 p.m. EST).
The Kings last game was Tuesday at the Philadelphia Flyers. Los Angeles lost in overtime 3-2, on a controversial goal by Brayden Schenn. The loss made L.A.’s record 6-2-1 in 9 games.
The Penguins are coming off a big win, pounding their division foes the New Jersey Devils 8-3 on Tuesday. The win puts Pittsburgh in a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with the Ottawa Senators. Pittsburgh has 11 points and a record of 5-2-1.
L.A. Kings Insider Jon Rosen reported the morning skate lineups for the Kings are as follows:
Forwards:
Tanner Pearson – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli
Dwight King – Mike Richards – Dustin Brown
Kyle Clifford – Jarret Stoll – Justin Williams
David Van der Gulik – Andy Andreoff – Jordan Nolan
Anze Kopitar – Trevor Lewis
Pens Labyrinth
Defensemen:
Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Robyn Regehr – Alec Martinez
Brayden McNabb – Matt Greene
Goalies:
Martin Jones
Jonathan Quick
Don’t be surprised if Martin Jones gets the start tonight. The Kings have been riding star goaltender Jonathan Quick pretty hard the last 6 games. Over that duration of games, Quick has averaged over 35 shots a game. The Penguins are likely to put up a good number of shots so the Kings may give Quick a rest. Especially with the weekend games against the Detroit Red Wings and Carolina Hurricanes coming up.
Jones has been impressive for the Kings posting a .970 save percentage, stopping 33 shots in one game started, and one game appearance in relief. Jones got his first win against the Winnipeg Jets on October 12th.
The Kings are still missing 2/3rd’s of their first line, as Marian Gaborik and Anze Kopitar are sidelined with injuries. Gaborik didn’t skate this morning, and Kopitar and Lewis skated with limited activity, meaning the outlook for them to suit up is not good.
The new name in the lineup is David Van der Gulik, who was recalled from the Manchester Monarchs. Van der Gulik has previous NHL experience playing a total of 48 games with the Colorado Avalanche and the Calgary Flames. This will be his first regular season game suiting up in a Kings uniform.
That 70’s Line of Carter, Pearson, and Toffoli will again play first line minutes. The Kings will look to continue their success, having them play as the scoring line that’s putting up the points.
The second line of King, Richards and Brown will work as the shutdown line, that has the unenviable task of stopping Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz and Patric Hornqvist. Unsurprisingly Crosby and fellow superstar Evgeni Malkin lead the team with 14, and 11 points respectively. Crosby leads the Penguins with 7 goals. Hornqvist has been a surprise. Benefiting from playing alongside Crosby, Hornqvist has 5 goals and 11 points in 8 games with the Pens.
The battered Kings will have a tough task ahead of them, when the puck drops at 4:00 p.m. tonight in Pittsburgh.