The Kings are coming off a 5-4 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. That game was a very important one for the Kings, who are now 1 point behind the Seattle Kraken for the final wild card spot. The Kings take on a very good Boston team, which is coming off a 5-4 comeback loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. So they will be looking to bounce back, especially after blowing a 3-0 lead in that game.
Projected Kings Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Kings:
Artemi Panarin – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore – Quinton Byfield – Alex Laferriere
Alex Turcotte – Scott Laughton – Jared Wright
Jeff Malott – Samuel Helenius – Taylor Ward
Mikey Anderson – Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson – Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin – Cody Ceci
Darcy Kuemper
Anton Forsberg
Projected Bruins Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Bruins:
Marat Khusnutdinov – Elias Lindholm – David Pastrnak
Casey Mittelstadt – Pavel Zacha – Viktor Arvidsson
Michael Eyssimont – Fraser Minten – Morgan Geekie
Tanner Jeannot – Sean Kuraly – Mark Kastelic
Jonathan Aspirot – Charlie McAvoy
Nikita Zadorov – Andrew Peeke
Hampus Lindholm – Mason Lohrei
Jeremy Swayman
Joonas Korpisalo
Line Changes and Injuries
The Injuries for the Kings have not changed since yesterday, and Mathieu Joseph and Jacob Moverare are again scratches for tonight's matchup. For the Bruins, they have scratched Alex Steeves, Henri Jokiharju, Jordan Harris and have no injuries listed on the roster.
The lines for the Kings are the same as yesterday, with the only change in goal: Kuemper is getting the nod today, as Forsberg made 28 saves in the win against Columbus. The Bruins are likely to start Jeremy Swayman, as Korpisalo started in their last game against the Penguins.
Key Factors
The Kings are on their second night of a back-to-back, and the Bruins have been one of the best home teams in the NHL, posting a 24-8-1 home record this season. The Kings on the road this season have a 16-8-7 record, so while they are a better team away from home, they still lose in overtime.
Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe look to continue their impressive play together. In the Blue Jackets game, both had 2 points, with Kempe scoring 2 goals and Panarin adding a goal and an assist.
The Kings will have to be wary of the Bruins' depth offence, but also their physical defence, as the Bruins like to play physical, and the Kings will need an answer for that.
Overall, this game is once again a very important one for the Kings as they look to move back into a playoff spot with a win tonight. My prediction for tonight's matchup is a 3-2 Kings win.
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