LA Kings vs Calgary Flames Preview: Projected Lines, Key Points, and More

Tampa Bay Lightning v Los Angeles Kings
Tampa Bay Lightning v Los Angeles Kings | Ronald Martinez/GettyImages

The Los Angeles Kings look to sweep the five-game homestand tonight against the divisional rival Calgary Flames.

Look Back at the Last Matchup

The Flames collected the first win of the season series back in November, skating to a 3-1 victory. Trevor Moore grabbed the only goal of the night for LA while Darcy Kuemper stopped 25 of 27 shots he faced.

Key Points Against the Calgary Flames

1. Love for Lewis

LA Kings forward Trevor Lewis reached the 1000-game mark back on Saturday against Tampa, becoming the 405th NHL player of all time to reach the 1000-game plateau.

Lewis is a welcomed return to the Kings lineup, adding a defensively responsible veteran to their bottom six and someone who can slide into any role. Trevor Lewis has been referred to as "Wild Thing" for the Kings, as they are able to use Lewis late in games when trying to close out games, as we saw against Tampa when he joined Kopitar and Kempe on the top line.

For those in attendance tonight, look to be in your seats early as the Kings will honor Lewis with the Silver Stick.

2. Looking for Double Digits

Tonight, the Kings enter as winners of nine straight games on home ice, looking to reach the ten-in-a-row mark for just the third time in franchise history.

There is not much of a better matchup than the Flames for this. Calgary has just five wins in 17 road games this year, carrying a record of 5-8-4. Flames goalie Dan Vladar has appeared in ten games on the road this season, posting a 3-4-3 record while icing a 3.07 goals against average and a .892 save percentage. The Flames carry a -21 goal differential on the road, while their historically bad PK drops to 69%. Their offense has averaged just two goals per game as well. Look for the Kings to be able to take advantage of the many flaws in the Flames road game.

3. Flaming out on Back-to-Back's

Overall this season, the Flames are just 1-3-0 in the second half of back-to-back's. In those four games, the Flames have scored just seven times while allowing twelve goals against. Their three most recent losses across those games have all come on the road, including a 3-0 shutout loss in their most recent second-half back-to-back set. With the Kings well rested and just three games across eight days this month so far, look for them to come out flying against a tired Flames group.

Kings lineup notes

LA welcomed back Kyle Burroughs to practice this week after he was designated non-roster before the Tampa game after the birth of his first child, while Joel Edmundson joined the main group on Tuesday in a red non-contact jersey against his scary collision with Zemgus Girgensions. Expect an update on his availability prior to puck drop today. Here is how the Kings lined up at practice:

Look Across the Ice at the Calgary Flames

The Flames come into this one on the second half of the SoCal back-to-back after picking up a 3-2 OT win last night. Here is how they lined up for that one.

Calgary is without Anthony Mantha and Justin Kirkland, both of whom are out for the season due to major ACL injuries. Connor Zary took a brutal knee-on-knee hit from Ducks defensemen Drew Helleson last night, and while there was no update from Flames head coach Ryan Huska, I would be shocked if he suited up for this one.

In terms of offensive production, the Flames are led by Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, at 29 and 27 points, respectively. Calgary is overall a bottom-three offense, with just four skaters over 20 points, one being the injured Zary.

As mentioned above, Dan Vladar will start tonight. The veteran goaltender sits at 6-8-5, with a 3.08 goals against average and an .888 save percentage.

How to Tune In

Tonight's puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PST, 10:30 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!

Schedule