LA Kings vs. St. Louis Blues Preview: Projected Lines, Key Points, and More

The Los Angeles Kings are back on home ice tonight, taking on the St. Louis Blues.

Look Back at the Last Meeting:

The Kings and Blues met for the first time last week, with the Blues taking down LA by a score of 4-1. Kevin Fiala scored the only goal of the game for LA, while David Rittich suffered the loss.

Key Points Against the St. Louis Blues:

1. Same Message, New Results

The Kings preached intensity and "must win" feelings against the Blackhawks but failed to walk the walk, dropping that game 5-1. Now, set for another matchup with St. Louis, this time on home ice, the Kings are following the same mindset.

Postgame forward Warren Foegele brought up how important it is to play to the Kings' identity with that defensive-first mindset and grind other teams out. Foegele mentioned how when the Kings are connected, they are a much better team. The Kings played their brand of hockey at times, and they know that, with head coach Jim Hiller saying, "We had urgency in the first, we had urgency in the third, and we just played in second."

It's there at moments, and the group knows that, but once again, need to up the level of play. Talk is cheap.

2. Blues Blues and More Blues

Get used to seeing the St. Louis Blues.

After matching up just four days ago, the Kings see the Blues once again. After tonight, they will play each other again on Friday. Interesting scheduling, to say the least. I think looking at the Blues and how they are playing is important for LA. This is a team playing with hunger and emotion as they fight for a playoff spot, and the Kings, if not careful, are going to be put in a very similar situation. It's not X's and O's; it's all mindset.

Learning opportunity tonight for LA.

3. Goaltender Gaffe

The Kings play slipped during the roadtrip, and it has had a hard impact on the play of Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich.

While there are a lot of factors impacting a goaltender, and I personally am always last to blame the goaltender, it is still important to look at the stats. Since returning from the break due to the Four Nations Faceoff, goaltender Darcy Kuemper sits at 2-2-0 with an ugly save percentage of .849. Goaltender David Rittich has fared even worse, going winless in his two outings and allowing 7 goals on just 51 shots.

The Kings need to find that team identity and provide their goaltenders with some extra help.

LA Kings Lineup Notes:

Looking like some lineup changes are coming tonight for LA. Based on morning skate, recently recalled Samuel Helenius is expected to play, as is Brandt Clarke. Jordan Spence is expected to be a healthy scratch. Darcy Kuemper was off first and is projected to start.

Look across the ice at the St. Louis Blues:

The Blues come into tonight with a record of 6-2-2 over their last ten but dropped their most recent game to Dallas. Here is how they lined up for that one, with no changes expected for tonight.

The Blues offense is led by Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, who sit with 50 and 49 points, respectively, on the season.

Expect to see Jordan Binnington once again tonight. It was a long weekend for the 2019 Stanley Cup Champion, who played 5 of the 6 Blues periods after Joel Hofer was pulled after just 1 period in Dallas.

How to tune in:

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