After the Kings’ overtime win against the Blues on Tuesday, they will look to try to win their 2nd game in a row for the first time this season.
The Kings will face a strong Dallas Stars team looking to avoid 4 straight losses. This matchup is key for the Kings and the Stars, as the Kings look to continue their point streak and Dallas seeks to remain above .500. In the last 10 matchups, the Stars have won 7 of 10 against the Kings.
Advertisement
Here are the projected Lines for the Kings tonight:
A. Kuzmenko – A. Laferriere – A. Kempe
K. Fiala – Q. Byfield – J. Armia
W. Foegele – P. Danault – T. Moore
J. Malott – A. Turcotte – C. Perry
B. Dumoulin- D. Doughty
J. Edmundson – B. Clarke
M. Anderson – C. Ceci
D. Kuemper
A. Forsberg
Here are the projected Lines for the Stars tonight:
S. Steel – R. Hintz – M. Rantanen
J. Robertson – W. Johnston – M. Bourque
A. Erne – T. Seguin – C. Blackwell
J. Hryckowian – R. Faksa – N. Bastian
E. Lindell – M. Heiskanen
T. Harley – I. Lyubushkin
L. Bichsel – A. Petrovic
J. Oettinger
Advertisement
C. Desmith
Both the Stars and Kings have key players out tonight due to injuries. For the Kings, they will be missing Anze Kopitar for the 4th straight game as he was put on Injured reserve on Tuesday. Kings will also still be without defensemen Kyle Burroughs, who practiced in a non-contact sweater but is not expected to be back until late October.
The Dallas Stars will be without Oskar Back, who has just started practicing. Matt Duchene will also be missing his second straight game as he is dealing with an upper-body injury after colliding with Minnesota Wild defenseman Jack Middleton.
Advertisement
Tonight’s game will be a tough one for the Kings as the Stars have elite players front to back. The Kings’ defence will need to be strong tonight to contain Mikko Rantanen, who has 7 points in 6 games. The Kings will also have to stay out of the penalty box, as the Stars’ power play is ranked 5th this year at 29.4%. In comparison, the Kings’ power play is ranked just behind the Stars at 6th with a percentage of 26.3.
On the penalty kill, the Kings and Stars are both ranked in the bottom 10, with Dallas being 30th in the NHL and the Kings being 26th. With both teams having weak penalty kills and strong power plays, staying out of the box will be important for the Kings to win this game.
Lastly, there is the goalie matchup between Darcy Kuemper and Jake Oettinger. In his career, Kuemper is 9-7-3 against the Stars, whereas Oettinger’s record is 3-3-1 against the Kings. Oettinger this season has posted a .894 SV% and a 3.18 GAA. Kuempers posted a .883 SV% and a 2.74 GAA. So the goalie matchup is very close and could be a major factor in which team gets the win.
The Kings and Stars will be a very good game, and if the Kings can stay out of the box and capitalize on any power-play chances, they should be able to walk out of Dallas with a win.