LA Kings at Calgary Flames Preview: Projected Lineups, Key Points, and More

The Los Angeles Kings are set for their second road game of their five-game road trip as they travel to play the Calgary Flames after an overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night.

Look Back at the Season Series

Tonight was supposed to mark the third matchup of the season between these two teams, but with Wednesday's contest being postponed, all we have to go off of is a matchup from back in November. The Flames collected the win in that game, skating to a 3-1 victory. Trevor Moore grabbed the only goal of the night with less than three minutes to go, while Darcy Kuemper stopped 25 of 27 shots he faced.

Key Points Against the Calgary Flames

1. Looking Back at the Second Half of Back-to-Back's

Yesterday we highlighted the Kings performances in the first half of back-to-back's; now we will look at the second half of those matchups.

Across those previous six scenarios, the Kings are 5-1-0, with their only loss coming at the tail end of their seven-game road trip. The Kings have outscored their opponents 26-14 in those six games, for an average of 4.3 goals per game and just 2.3 goals against per game.

Tonight's starter, David Rittich, is a perfect 3-0-0 in these games. With LA riding a five-game winning streak and having confidence in Rittich in the back-to-back scenario, the Kings are setup for success tonight.

2. Magic Mo and Super Spenny

With some minutes up for grabs with Joel Edmundson out of the lineup last night and Andreas Englund in only his second game since November, both Jordan Spence and Jacob Moverare stepped up and logged some extra minutes.

On top of the extra ice time, Moverare grabbed an assist on the game's first goal, while Spence beat Jets goaltender Eric Comrie but had his goal taken back due to the play being offside. All in all, the Kings two young blueliners both played north of 19 minutes and were both +1, while combined blocking four shots and throwing five hits. For my advanced analytics fans, Moverare had the highest game impact score according to the HockeyStatCards model.

The Kings essentially ran five defensemen in the final frame, with these two being a huge part of that success. With no status update on Edmundson as of now, expect these two to log another heavy workload tonight.

3. Playing for LA

This road trip carries more than just wanting the win in the standings.

The Kings are playing for all of Los Angeles. With the horrible fires going on back home, sports become a way to distance yourself from what is going on, providing you with a break from constant thoughts about the fires.

This was seen all throughout the day when players and staff met with the media, mentoning the importance of playing for those back home while also stating how happy they were for the group to be able to play as well as they did under the circumstances.

For all of you that have been effected by the fires, we send you our thoughts and prayers, and hope tonight's game can bring you some joy during these incredibly tough times.

LA Kings Lineup Notes

Joel Edmundson did not play last night in Winnipeg, with no update on him for tonight. Andreas Englund was paired next to Brandt Clarke last night, with the lineup in its entirety looking like this:

Look Across the Ice at the Calgary Flames

Calgary's last game was Tuesday, where they picked up a 3-2 overtime win against Anaheim, snapping their brief two-game losing streak. Here is how they looked at practice yesterday.

Calgary is without Anthony Mantha and Justin Kirkland for the remainder of the season due to ACL injuries, while Connor Zary took an ugly knee-on-knee hit in Anaheim and is out for the foreseen future.

In terms of offensive production, the Flames are led by Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, at 30 and 28 points, respectively. Calgary is overall a bottom-three offense, with just five skaters over 20 points, one being the injured Zary.

Expect former Jr. King and California native Dustin Wolf to get the start for the Flames. The rookie goaltender is 13-6-2 on the season with a .914 save percentage.

How to Tune In

Tonight's puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PST, 10:00 p.m. EST, and is available to watch on FanDuel Sports Network West. The pregame show will begin 30 minutes prior. An audio-only feed is available on the ESPN LA App. Go Kings Go!