Tonight the LA Kings put their five-game win streak on the line against the Nashville Predators, a team not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs but sit on the bubble sitting six points out with games in hand. Although there are never any nights off in the NHL when winning teams line up against desperate teams, there is always the element of underestimating an opponent, which can lead to trouble.
Additionally, tonight serves as the rubber match in the 2022-23 series since the Kings won the first meeting 4-3 in the shootout on Oct. 18, 2022, and the Predators rebounded to take a 5-3 contest on Jan. 21, 2023.
A Significant Storyline to Follow in Tonight’s LA Kings Game
The Kings beat the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night in Denver; however, they lost their leading scorer Kevin Fiala to a lower-body injury. Although he skated a handful of shifts after taking a knee-on-knee hit in the game, LA has yet to announce a return date and consider him day-to-day.
Ultimately, losing Fiala is a blow to the team; however, Todd McLellan has been fortunate enough to get everyone in the lineup contributing on offense, so his absence won’t cripple the whole system. Conversely, when dissecting the point production from the lineup, except for Alexander Edler (54 games), anyone who has skated in at least 30 games has reached double digits in points, with 13 players scoring over 20 points.
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Furthermore, the Kings remain one of the league’s top teams in offense, ranking as the ninth highest-scoring team (227 goals), just a few tallies behind playoff-bound teams like the New Jersey Devils (229), Tampa Bay Lightning (228), and Dallas Stars (225).
Currently, LA has 84 points, the sixth most in the league, an honor they share with the Vegas Golden Knights. Additionally, the Kings are one of nine teams with 20 wins on home ice, sporting a 20-9-2 record at Crypto.com Arena. Meanwhile, the Predators come in tonight as the 17th-best road team, with a 15-13-4 record.
Surprisingly, Nashville lost to the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday (4-1), while LA handed the defending champions (Avalanche) a loss on home ice, 5-2. During their last ten games, the Kings are 7-2-1, and the Preds are 6-3-1.
Key LA Kings & Predators Players to Watch
Viktor Arvidsson is in the midst of another lengthy goal drought, five games, last finding the back of the net on Feb. 26 against the New York Rangers. Even though he is a few games shy of tying his season high of eight games without a goal, he could be a player to break out of a slump with a goal tonight against his former team.
Sitting at 18 goals on the year, Arvidsson sits just two goals shy of reaching 20 goals for the second consecutive season and the fifth time in his career. Historically, he’s only played four games against the team that drafted him in the fourth round in 2014, registering a single assist and a minus-four rating thus far.
Conversely, the Predators continue to play without Filip Forsberg, who was placed on injured reserve back on Feb. 11 with an upper-body injury. Consequently, the offense has struggled without the gifted winger in the lineup, which accounts for defenseman Roman Josi being their leading scorer with 56 points through 62 games.
Despite the team’s ability to score points by committee, Matt Duchene remains the team’s top offensive threat with 51 points, the only player besides Josi to get into the half-century point club. Historically, he has 25 points in 30 games against the Kings with ten goals,15 assists, and a minus-ten rating.
LA Kings & Predators Historical Notes
Historically, the Kings have a winning record against 20 NHL franchises and hold a slight lead in the head-to-head series (37-34-3-6) with the Predators, who will meet for the 81st time. Additionally, these two teams have been evenly matched in 25 years, with LA scoring just seven extra goals, 226-219, in those contests.
Surprisingly, the Preds were undefeated (2-0) at the Great Western Forum; however, they have a losing record at Crypto.com Arena, posting just a 20-13-0-6 record in 39 trips to Hollywood. As mentioned, the two teams are close, with LA outscoring Nashville 121-115 on home ice.
Who’s Next for the LA Kings
The Kings don’t hit the ice again until Tuesday night when the New York Islanders visit. Ultimately, the Isles will present a significant challenge to LA since they are fighting for every point to maintain their slight lead in the Eastern Conference wildcard race.
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