The Los Angeles Kings continue their home stand with another divisional matchup on Wednesday night when they take on the Vancouver Canucks. The Kings this season have been exceptional at home with a 19-3-2 record and have secured a point in six straight games dating back to prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
They have one more home game before hitting the road for back-to-back games against the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues. However, they can't look past a Canucks team that would love to play spoiler to the Kings.
This season, the Canucks have struggled with a 26-20-11 record, which includes back-to-back losses to the Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Hockey Club since the break. The good news for the Kings is that those are the last two teams they played and both ended in wins for Los Angeles.
The big question for the Canucks is whether or not Quinn Hughes will be able to return. He has not played since the end of January but was a full participant in practice yesterday. If he does play, that is a big boost for the Canucks as the defenseman leads the team in points with 59.
Final Score Prediction: Los Angeles Kings 5, Vancouver Canucks 2
The Canucks are without their top goalie in Thatcher Demko but it appears that they have turned the page on Demko with the extension of Kevin Lankinen last week. Demko has been dealing with injuries and Lankinen has been the primary starter. In his one game since the break, he allowed only two goals to the Vegas Golden Knights so Los Angeles should have their work cut out for them.
Even if Hughes returns, and with Lankinen in net, the Los Angeles Kings have just been too good at home that it is tough to pick against them. They are 5-0-1 over the past six games but more important is that they are scoring goals, and in four of the past five home games they have scored five or more goals.
The Kings once again reach that mark and take their win streak on the road with a big matchup on Friday against Dallas.