LA Kings vs Washington Capitals projected lineups, odds, notes

The LA Kings look to extend their winning streak to four games when they welcome the Washington Capitals to town on Monday evening.

Projected Lineups

LA Kings (36-20-8)

Here’s how the Kings skated in Joonas Korpisalo’s Kings’ debut:

Tonight's @LAKings Line Rushes –

Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Danault – Arvidsson
Iafallo – Lizotte – Vilardi
Grundstrom – Kupari – Kaliyev

Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Roy
Edler – Durzi

Korpisalo
Copley

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) March 5, 2023

We’ll learn more at the morning skate if Zach MacEwen will make his debut or if there are any other lineup changes.

Washington Capitals (31-27-6)

The Capitals beat up on the San Jose Sharks on Saturday; here’s what that lineup looked like:

#Caps lines/pairs/starter at SJS:

Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Mantha-Backstrom-Smith
Milano-Strome-Oshie
Sheary-Dowd-NAK

Sandin-TvR
Alexeyev-Irwin
Carlsson-Iorio

Kuemper

— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) March 4, 2023

5-on-5

Here’s how the two teams match up at 5-on-5 per Natural Stat Trick

The Caps haven’t been a bad team this season, but a key injury to John Carlson really derailed things for them. They’re on the outside of the playoff picture at this point, and the recent trades of Dmity Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, Marcus Johansson, and Lars Eller have depleted a lot of their roster.

Special Teams

Any power play with Alex Ovechkin will be inherently dangerous, though it has been less so with Carlson no longer around.

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 10 am ET/7 am PT may have changed since this was published.

The Kings are home favorites on Monday, with a few books offering -145 as the best price. BetRivers has the best price on Washington at +133. The total on the game is 6.5, with BetRivers’ +102 the best price on the Over and FanDuel’s -118 the best price on the Under.

I really like the hosts tonight. I think -145 is a good price on the Kings. I think the losses to theCaps’s lineup are just too much to overcome against a good LA team.

News & Notes

• So far, so good for the two former Columbus Blue Jackets in Los Angeles. Vladislav Gavrikov has played with two different defense partners so far and has been as advertised, while Korpisalo turned away 24 of 26 shots in his debut, earning the win.
• Trevor Moore was back on the ice in a regular jersey on Sunday; his return appears to be coming soon.
• The Kings can tie the Vegas Golden Knights in points atop the Pacific Division with a win over Washington.
• Despite being 3-7 in their last ten games, the Caps have won two straight with wins over San Jose and Anaheim.
• Quinton Byfield has started to add production to his strong play; he has points in three straight games. Though, he hasn’t scored a goal since January 21st.
• Gabriel Vilardi is red hot, scoring four goals and adding an assist in his last five games.