LA Kings vs Carolina Hurricanes Preview: Key Points, Projected Lines, and More

The Los Angeles Kings are back at home this afternoon to kick off a three-game homestand against the red-hot Carolina Hurricanes.

Look Back at the Last Meeting:

The Kings were winners of the first matchup of the season, picking up a 4-2 road victory back in February. Kevin Fiala stole the show with a two-goal performance, while Quinton Byfield and Phillip Danault also put up two points. Darcy Kuemper stopped 26 of 28 in the win.

Key Points Against the Carolina Hurricanes:

1. Fantastic Fourth

The Kings fourth line of Alex Turcotte, Samuel Helenius, and Tanner Jeannot has been great since being put together post-trade deadline.

While your eyes immediately turn to Chicago, as that was the first game they have scored in, the main contribution I see is giving LA four lines they are comfortable running with. For most of the season, whether running 11/7 or 12/6, the Kings would essentially run only three lines in the 3rd and cut that even more if they were holding the lead. Now, that is not the case. On many occasions Jim Hiller has given his bottom line ice time late in the final frame, and they are fully deserving off it, as they have not conceded a goal against so far as a line.

Against top teams line Carolina, the Kings need all four lines rolling and giving them quality minutes.

2. Hot Hurricanes

Despite all the outside noise the Carolina Hurricanes have faced as of late, they are playing their best hockey of the season, entering tonight winners of eight straight games.

What an interesting time in Carolina. After a blockbuster move to acquire Mikko Rantanen from Colorado earlier in the year, the Canes flipped him to Dallas at the deadline after being unable to come to a contract extension agreement. Since then, with a lot less pressure and outside noise, it has been nothing but victories for the Hurricanes.

During their eight-game winning streak, the Hurricanes have scored at a clip of 3.37 goals per game, but what really stands out is their defensive and goaltending play, allowing just 10 goals in those 8 games, for a 1.25 goals against per game mark. This has been a trend for about a month now for Carolina, as they have given up more than two goals just twice since February 27.

Big test today for LA against another elite defensive team.

3. Chasing Down History

The Kings enter this afternoon's game with points in 12 straight home games, looking to hit the 13-game mark for just the 3rd time in franchise history.

Jim Hiller simply has the Kings playing unbelievable hockey on home ice. This season the Kings have been fantastic on home ice, a trend that Jim Hiller seems to have brought over from the season prior. Overall, in the year plus that Jim Hiller has been LA's head coach, the Kings are 37-6-5 at Crypto.com Arena. Just wow.

While they are looking to make more history, Darcy Kuemper has already made home ice history of his own this season. After his win against Nashville last week, he officially has the longest point streak by a goalie in franchise history, at 12 games.

One step closer to history with a point tonight.

Los Angeles Lineup Notes:

With the 1 pm puck drop today, LA had no morning skate, but I would not expect any lineup changes. Darcy Kuemper should get the start.

Look across the ice at the Carolina Hurricanes:

As mentioned above, Carolina has been on fire as of late, and here is how they lined up on Thursday against the San Jose Sharks.

The Hurricanes are led offensively by Sebastian Aho, whose 65 points in 67 games put him in a comfortable lead for team scoring. Seth Jarvis leads the Canes in goals with 27.

No word on a starting goalie today for the Hurricanes, who are also set for a back-to-back this weekend.

When looking at the Canes lineup, the big piece missing is Andrei Svechnikov. Svechnikov is on the trip with Carolina, but his availability is up in the air. Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said he is hopeful he can play this weekend. I would label him as a game-time decision. Jesper Fast and William Carrier are out long-term.

How to Tune In:

Tonight's puck drop is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PST and 4:00 p.m. EST and is available to watch on FanDuel Sports Network West, with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes prior. An audio-only feed is available on the ESPN LA App. Go Kings Go!