The Los Angeles Kings are going to be looking to extend what has already been a franchise record 13 straight home games with at least a point. On Tuesday night, the New York Rangers are going to be looking to end that streak and build off a 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks that ended a three-game losing streak for them.
Will Trevor Moore be back for the Los Angeles Kings?
The Los Angeles Kings have been pretty fortunate when it comes to injuries recently but on Sunday, Trevor Moore was out due to an upper-body injury. It was considered only day-to-day so there is a chance he is able to return for this game tonight against the Rangers.
To replace Moore, the Kings had Trevor Lewis active for the game against the Bruins, which was his first game since March 5th against the St. Louis Blues. The Kings were smart to have him replace Moore on the line with Phillip Danault and Warren Foegele instead of adding him to the fourth line and moving up Alex Turcotte. The fourth line has been excellent recently and it was smart to not disrupt that momentum.
If Moore is unable to play tonight, then Trevor Lewis once again should be active and slot in on the line with Danault and Foegele, where he did have an assist against the Bruins.
4 players will try to extend their own goal-scoring streak
The Los Angeles Kings had 14 goals combined in their games on Saturday and Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins. That total is impressive but what might be even more impressive is that in each game seven different players scored goals which highlights the depth the Kings have across their lines.
Entering Tuesday, there are four players who currently have their own goal streak as they scored in both games on the weekend. That group includes Andrei Kuzmenko, Anze Kopitar, Quinton Byfield, and Tanner Jeannot.
It wasn't surprising to see Byfield in this group as he has been exceptional in March scoring as he has eight in this month but the other three have not been contributing much in terms of goals. Kuzmenko was searching for his first point with the Los Angeles Kings since they traded for him and he now has three with the two goals and an assist.
Prior to the weekend, Kopitar went five straight games without a goal and had only three in the prior 15 games. As for Jeannot, he had only five goals on the season prior to these past two games. If the Kings can continue to get production across all four lines, they are going to be tough to beat.
Protect the puck when on the power play
The New York Rangers seemingly are the definition of average as they are right in the middle in most of the team stats at this point in the season with a goals against average of 3.00 and a goals scored per game of 2.99. However, if there is one thing that the Kings need to be aware of and cautious is when they are on the power play because the Rangers have been excellent capitalizing on those mistakes.
This season, the Rangers lead the league in short-handed goals with 14 and are one of three teams with double digit goals in this category. Chris Kreider has the most on the Rangers with four, which is the same number the Los Angeles Kings as a team have in this category.
The Kings have improved some with their power play in March but in the game against the Rangers will need to be sure to protect the puck and not let the Rangers get a short-handed opportunity.
Final Score Prediction: Los Angeles Kings 5, New York Rangers 1
The Los Angeles Kings have been the best team in the NHL at home this season, have been on a roll in terms of scoring goals and should have Darcy Kuemper in net. One of the issues for the Kings is having subpar performances in games they should win, especially with a game against the Colorado Avalanche up next.
However, it is getting close to the end of the season and there is a level of urgency where every game matters, especially if they want to win the Pacific Division. The Kings can make a statement tonight that they should be considered a Stanley Cup contenders and do so with a dominant win.