The LA Kings will try to bounce back from their shootout loss on Saturday when they host the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
Projected Lineups
LA Kings (38-20-9)
This is how the Kings skated in their loss to Nashville:
Tonight’s @LAKings Line Rushes –
Byfield – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Iafallo – Lizotte – Vilardi
Grundstrom – Kupari – MacEwenAnderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Roy
Edler – WalkerCopley
Korpisalo— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) March 12, 2023
The one change I’d expect to see is Joonas Korpisalo in for Pheonix Copley as the two netminders continue to their rotation.
New York Islanders (34-26-8)
Here is how the Islanders skated during Monday’s practice:
#Isles at practice (No Pageau)
Lee-Horvat-Bailey
Parise-Nelson-Palmieri
Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck
Johnston/Holmstrom-Engvall-Fasching
Pelech-Mayfield
Romanov-Pulock
Aho-Dobson
(Wotherspoon)
Sorokin (starter’s net)
Varlamov— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) March 13, 2023
Jean-Gabriel Pageau missed practice for personal reasons but is expected to be with the team on Tuesday.
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 |
| New York Islanders | 49.0 | 49.0 | 49.9 | 49.5 | 8.6 | 0.927 | 1.013 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 52.0 | 52.7 | 52.6 | 53.6 | 8.3 | 0.903 | 0.986 |
The New York Islanders are an average, at best, team but have an elite goaltender.
Special Teams
| Team | PP% | PK% |
| New York Islanders | 16.8 | 83.1 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 23.9 | 75.7 |
Bo Horvat‘s arrival on Long Island has been helpful to their power play. The 28th overall power play has been 14th since Horvat played his first game in early February.
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 the writing of this article.
The LA Kings are favored in this one, with a few books offering -135. The visiting Islanders are +117 at BetRivers. The total on the game is either 5.5 or six, depending on where you shop. The best value on the Over is at BetRivers, which has the Over six at +104. BetRivers also has the best price on the Under at -122.
I’ve been on the Kings lately, but I think this game is fairly priced. The Islanders are not great, but they have played some better hockey of late. With the great goaltending from Ilya Sorokin, plus the absence of Kevin Fiala for LA, I’m going to stay away on this one.
News & Notes
- Though Pageau missed Monday’s practice for personal reasons, he had been day-to-day. The hope for the Islanders is that he plays on Tuesday.
- Mat Barzal has been out of the lineup since late February and he hasn’t resumed skating.
- The LA power play continues its skid. It’s gone three straight games without a goal and is 0-for-12 during that span. Kevin Fiala’s absence isn’t going to help.
- Speaking of the power play, the player that is second on the team in power play goals, Arthur Kaliyev, has been a healthy scratch the past three games. His last goal came on February 24th against these New York Islanders. We’ll see if he gets a look back in the lineup on Tuesday.
- LA Kings Insider Zach Dooley had injury updates on Kevin Fiala and Sean Durzi. Both appear to be short-term injuries, but neither will play on Tuesday.
- In Durzi’s absence, fellow Sean (Walker) manned the second power play. Jordan Spence has operated at the top of that unit when he has drawn in; whoever happens to get the nod on Tuesday will also be atop the second power play unit.
- In the Eastern Conference the Islanders are clinging to the second Wild Card position, just three points up on the Florida Panthers.
- Los Angeles has a four-point cushion on the third-place Seattle Kraken in the Pacific Division and are three points behind Vegas for the division lead.
(Main Photo Credit: NHL.com)