Joe Patarino Winners of four straight, the LA Kings look to head into the Christmas weekend on a winning note against the Coyotes in Arizona on Friday.
Projected Lineups
LA Kings (19-12-5)
Here’s how the Kings lined up in their 4-3 win over Calgary on Thursday:
Tonight's @LAKings Line Rushes –
Fiala – Kopitar – Kempe
Iafallo – Danault – Moore
Arvidsson – Lizotte – Vilardi
Anderson-Dolan – Kupari – GrundstromAnderson – Doughty
Durzi – Roy
Edler – WalkerCopley
QuickKaliyev blocked a shot late last game and won't play tonight.
— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) December 23, 2022
Given the back-to-back, there won’t be a full practice on Friday. Jonathan Quick should get the nod in goal and head coach Todd McLellan said that Arthur Kaliyev will not play tonight in Arizona.
Arizona Coyotes (10-16-5)
Boyd – Schmaltz – Keller
Bjugstad – Crouse – Maccelli
Ritchie – Fischer – Hayton
Kassian – Fischer – McBain
Gostisbehere – Chychrun
Nemeth – Stetcher
Brown – Moser
Vejmelka
5-on-5
Here’s how the two teams match up at 5-on-5 per Natural Stat Trick
| Team | CF% | xGF% | SCF% | HDCF% | SH% | SV% | PDO |
| Los Angeles Kings | 51.8 | 53.1 | 52.5 | 52.9 | 8.2 | 0.905 | 0.987 |
| Arizona Coyotes | 43.1 | 41.3 | 42.1 | 39.1 | 9.3 | 0.909 | 1.001 |
The Kings across the board are a much better team at 5-on-5 and thanks to Pheonix Copley giving them some saves recently, the results are starting to match their 5-on-5 play.
Special Teams
| Team | PP% | PK% |
| Los Angeles Kings | 22.5 | 71.8 |
| Arizona Coyotes | 17.3 | 78.5 |
The Kings’ streak of scoring goals with the man advantage ended last night, but they again allowed a power play goal against. That’s now six games in a row they’ve allowed a power play goal against.
Betting Odds
Let’s look at the odds, courtesy of Betstamp.
*Note: the odds below are for sports books offered in New York. Refer to available sports books specific to your state.
**Odds as of 8:30 am ET/5:30 am PT may have changed since this was published.
The Kings come in as road favorites with FanDuel offering the best number at -156 while BetRivers has the hosts at +145. The total on the game is set at six with BetRivers offering -118 on the Over and multiple shops have the Under at Even money.
I do like the Kings at this number. Despite the back-to-back and Quick the likely goaltender, the 5-on-5 play and power play efficiency is significantly better than Arizona. The Coyotes have been a better team at home (4-3-2), but I’m riding with LA tonight.
News & Notes
- It has been a lengthy absence for Jonathan Quick as he’s ceded the crease to Pheonix Copley for the last two weeks. Quick’s last start game was on December 8th in a 5-0 loss in Toronto. He’s really struggled this season, posting an 8-8-3 record with a 3.55 goals-against average and a .882 save percentage. Additionally, Quick is fifth-worst in the NHL in goals saved above expected (-11.1) among goaltenders with at least ten games played (per Moneypuck.com). For someone as competitive as Quick, I’d suspect he’s been chomping at the bit to get back in the net and is ready for a solid performance tonight.
- Conversely, Karel Vejmelka has been one of the league’s best goalies. His surface numbers may underwhelm you with a 9-9-4 record, 3.19 goals-against average and .908 save percentage, but, his 15.7 goals save above expected is good for fourth in the NHL.
- Blake Lizotte scored his seventh goal of the season and just as everyone expected, is third on the LA Kings in 5-on-5 goals scored.
- The LA Kings play their league-leading 37th game of the 2022-23 season tonight. Though the team sits in second place in the Pacific Division, the team immediately behind them, Seattle Kraken, will have five games in hand on them. Currently, LA’s lead over the Kraken is three points, given the games in hand, a game against Arizona is a big one to bank points and extend that gap to five points.
(Main Photo Credit: Justin Tang / Associated Press)