LA Kings vs Ottawa Senators Preview: Key Points, Projected Lineup, and More

The Los Angeles Kings look to make it three in a row today against the Ottawa Senators.

Look Back at the Last Meeting

Things got wild back in October when these teams met in Ottawa, with the Senators taking the game 8-7 in overtime. Five different Kings collected multiple points, including three-point nights for Anze Kopitar and Brandt Clarke. All three goalies who appeared in that game are not expected to play today.

Key Points for the Los Angeles Kings against the Ottawa Senators

1. Stay out of the Box against Ottawa

The Kings were penalized seven times in their previous meeting, with Ottawa collecting three powerplay goals. While the penalty problem has slowed down for the Kings, it's important to keep the Senators off the man advantage. Ottawa sits at 28.6% on the man advantage, which is 4th in the league. Over their last two games, both of which are 4-3 wins, Ottawa has converted three times on the powerplay.

2. Importance on the First Goal

Prior to their current two-game winning streak, Ottawa had dropped five straight games. Across those games, Ottawa gave up their first goal in all of them, something that has been a trend for the Senators. In the twelve total games that the Senators have lost this season, they have scored the first goal in just one of those. On the LA side, the Kings are 8-2-3 in games in which they have opened the scoring.

3. Fourth Line Love

The Kings were extremely happy with the performance they got from their fourth line of Trevor Lewis, Samuel Helenius, and Andre Lee. The line was quickly put together yesterday after Lee was recalled prior to puck drop due to an injury to Trevor Moore.

The Kings fourth line was responsible for 12 of LA's 18 recorded hits, with Trevor Lewis and Andre Lee receiving ice time late in the game with the Anaheim net empty. The duo of Lee and Lewis led all Kings in 5v5 CF% last night in Anaheim. If Moore is not able to go again, the Kings can be confident in the play they will get from their fourth line.

Below is how the Kings lined up yesterday with Trevor Moore. At this moment, there is no update on his availability. Outside of a potential Moore return, no lineup changes are expected. David Rittich will get the start.

A Look Across the Ice at the Ottawa Senators

Ottawa comes into today's matchup off a strange 4-3 win in San Jose back on Wednesday. Despite picking up the two points, Ottawa was outshot 39-11. Here's how they lined up yesterday at practice:

Ottawa is led offensively by their captain Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, as well as 2020 3rd overall pick Tim Stutzle, all of which sit over a point per game. Surprise breakout candidate Adam Gaudette is tied with Tkachuk for the team lead in goals, with 11. Ottawa's big off-season acquisition of Linus Ullmark is projected to get the start for the Senators. Ullmark has struggled to begin his first season in Senators colors, with just a .886 save percentage and a 3.09 goals against average.

Today's game is scheduled for 4pm PST, with the pregame show beginning at 3:30 on FanDuel Sports Network West. An audio-only option of the game is available on the ESPN LA App.