Game Preview: Los Angeles Kings @ Pittsburgh Penguins 12/17/2024

The Pens are set to face one of the NHL’s hottest teams while down a top-four defenseman.

Who: Los Angeles Kings (18-9-3, 39 points, 2nd place Pacific Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (13-14-5, 31 points, 6th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7 p.m. ET

How to Watch: Local broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh, FDSNW for the LA area, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins spend the rest of the week on the road, with trips to Nashville on Thursday and New Jersey on Saturday, before returning to PPG Paints for an Christmas Eve-Eve rivalry game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Opponent Track: The Kings enter tonight’s matchup as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. They’ve won seven of their last eight games, with their only loss since Nov. 27 coming in a 3-1 defeat by the Devils last Thursday. Most recently the Kings routed the New York Rangers 5-1 on Saturday.

Season Series: This is the first meeting between these two teams this season. The Pens and Kings reunite when Pittsburgh takes a late-January swing through the West Coast.

Hidden Stat: The Kings enter this game with 18 regulation wins through 30 games, tying a franchise record for the second-most in history (h/t Blake Warye.)

Getting to know the Kings

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Alex Turcotte - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe

Kevin Fiala - Phillip Danault - Alex Laferriere

Warren Foegele - Quinton Byfield - Tanner Jeannot

Samuel Helenius - Akil Thomas

DEFENSEMEN

Mikey Anderson - Vladislav Gavrikov

Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke

Jacob Moverare - Jordan Spence

Kyle Burroughs

Goalies: Darcy Kuemper, David Rittich

IR: Drew Doughty, Trevor Lewis, Arthur Kaliyev

Potential Scratches: Trevor Moore (upper-body injury)

• With winger Trevor Moore out with a lower-body injury, Los Angeles went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen during Saturday’s win over the Rangers. The 11/7 lineup has been working for this team, and team reporter Zach Dooley believes the team will go with the same format against the Pens. If the Kings decide to put in a 12th forward, call-up Andre Lee will likely slot into the fourth line.
• Arthur Kaliyev, who has yet to play this season, is nearing a return from his training camp injury but won’t be back for tonight’s game. He’s currently on a conditioning loan with the Ontario Reign.
• The Kings defense has held opponents to an NHL-low 2.50 goals per game so far this season. The Pens rank 31st with 3.72 goals allowed per game, and the loss of Marcus Pettersson for the near future certainly won’t help.

Player stats

(via hockeydb)

• The Kings’ last victory involved them scoring five straight goals against the New York Rangers and chasing Igor Shesterkin at Madison Square Garden. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman recently said the Rangers, who already traded former captain Jacob Trouba just before beating the Pens two weeks ago, are “willing to consider all options” after the loss.
• Blake Lizotte, who spent the first six seasons of his NHL career in Los Angeles, is facing the Kings for the first time since signing a two-year deal with the Pens this summer. The reunion comes at a good time for Lizotte, who has eight points (4-4—8) in his last seven games and has overall had a positive impact on the Penguins’ ability to control play when he’s on the ice.
• Anze Kopitar led the Kings in points during the 2013-14 regular season prior to the team’s run to the Stanley Cup. Eleven seasons later and in his 19th campaign with the Kings, Kopitar is leading his teammates in points once again thanks to his 26 assists through 30 games.

And now for the Pens

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust

Michael Bunting - Evgeni Malkin - Philip Tomasino

Drew O’Connor - Cody Glass - Anthony Beauvillier

Matt Nieto - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

Owen Pickering / Kris Letang

Matt Grzelcyk / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves / Ryan Shea

Goalies: Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic

Potential Scratches: Jesse Puljujarvi, Kevin Hayes, Marcus Pettersson (injured)

IR: none

• Marcus Pettersson, who was injured in the first period of the Pens’ overtime loss to the Sens on Saturday, is “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury, Mike Sullivan said on Monday. The Pens moved Grzelcyk up to the second pairing in his absence and slotted in Shea on the third pairing during Monday’s practice.
• Losing the Pens’ most consistent defender will hurt. Pettersson was skating more than 21 minutes and logging a team-high 2:49 penalty kill minutes per game.