Riding a four-game losing streak is not fun, if the LA Kings don’t want to fall out of the playoff picture, they’re going to need to get it together. Might as well do it against an elite opponent like Toronto.
The Toronto Maple Leafs took that loss to the LA Kings personally, as since then, they’ve gone 6-1-0. They’ve proven they’re an elite team, at least in the regular season.
On the injury list for the Maple Leafs are Ilya Mikheyev and Petr Mrazek, both of which have been out for a while. For the Kings, all the players who have been out, will remain out.
Mitch Marner currently leads the team in points, with six goals and 17 points through 20 games played. Their leading goal scorer is John Tavares, who has eight through 20 games played.
As mentioned earlier, four straight losses for the Kings has not been pretty. They recently lost to the Arizona Coyotes, 2-1 in overtime. One goal scored on the worst team in hockey while being outscored by the team with the worst offensive core the sport has seen in half a decade is not a good performance at all. That has to have lit a fire under the Kings, and you should be expecting them to come out hot to start the night.
The key to this game is simple, don’t give Auston Matthews any space, especially not in or near the slot. The Californian born forward is lethal with the puck, and even though he’s started off “slow” with his goal-scoring ways, he can still make you pay in an instant if you give him just a little bit of room.
One-Timers
- Former Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jack Campbell is expected to get the start for Toronto tonight. He’s 10-4-1 on the season with a .944 save percentage and 11.49 goals saved above expected (GSAx) competing for the Vezina Trophy. It’ll be hard to get pucks by him.
- The Kings are already on their second 4+ game losing streak of the season. This season’s longest drought without a win spanned from October 16th to October 28th, which lasted six games. After that, they went on a seven-game winning streak. Let’s do that again with fewer losses this time, yes?
- Viktor Arvidsson hasn’t scored since October 30th and has just two goals on 44 shots, good for a 4.5 shooting percentage. He’s got to break through eventually, right? Maybe tonight’s the night.
- We could be getting a sneak peek on a future Kings defenseman tonight. Both Travis Dermott and Justin Holl have been on the trade block this season, and I wouldn’t be surprised if LA took a chance on either one.
- Speaking of defensemen, look for Sean Durzi to make his NHL debut tonight.
Puck Drop and Broadcast Info
- Wednesday, November 24 at 7:00 p.m. PT
- TV: SNO, TNT
Tale of the Tape
Powerplay
LAK: 15.9% (24th)
TOR: 23.2% (7th)
Penalty Kill
LAK: 77.8% (24th)
TOR: 88.7% (3rd)
Faceoffs
LAK: 54.1% (T-3rd)
TOR: 55.2% (1st)
Goals Per Game
LAK: 2.56 (24th)
TOR: 2.55 (27th)
Goals Against Per Game
LAK: 2.56 (T-6th)
TOR: 2.25 (3rd)
Top Scorer
LAK: Anze Kopitar – 8 goals, 9 assists, 17 points
TOR: Mitch Marner – 6 goals, 11 assists, 17 points