Kings Vs. Canucks Game 20: Lines, Notes and How to Watch

In the first night of a back-to-back, the Los Angeles Kings (11-7-1) have a chance to grab their second win against the Pacific Division tonight. Facing off against the Vancouver Canucks (5-9-3). Their Wednesday night matchup against the Edmonton Oilers had a playoff feel to it, and the Kings need to bring that same intensity tonight.

With that intensity, the Kings need to repeat their shot-blocking performance from Wednesday. Blocking 29 shots, especially when your goalies are struggling, is always a great way to win games. They also stayed out of the box on Wednesday, allowing just one power play opportunity against. 

The Kings are a dominant team 5-on-5. They're top ten in the league for expected goals for percentage, Corsi and Fenwick for at even-strength. Combining that with their subpar penalty kill and staying out of the box is imperative for this team. 

Like the Oilers on Wednesday, the Canucks have a deadly power play. Ticking at 29.51%, they'll make you pay if you give them too many opportunities. However, the Canucks also have the league's worst penalty kill, at 63.79%. This game could be decided by special teams and the Kings are dealing with a Canucks team that deals with extremes in this area. 

The Kings can't rely on a Trevor Moore hat trick to lead their offense though. They need to get their top line going again. Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe and Gabe Vilardi have combined for just five points between all of them in the last five games. There's good reason to believe this will change. Through this dry spell, the line is still dominating possession and chances, they just can't find the net. Coming up against a team that's allowed the joint second-most goals could be the perfect opportunity to find their touch once again. 

Expected LA Kings Lines

Adrian Kempe-Anze Kopitar-Gabe Vilardi

Trevor Moore-Phil Danault-Viktor Arvidsson

Kevin Fiala-Rasmus Kupari-Carl Grundstrom

Jaret Anderson-Dolan-Blake Lizotte-Arthur Kaliyev

Defense:

Mikey Anderson-Drew Doughty

Sean Durzi-Matt Roy

Alex Edler-Sean Walker

Goalies:

Jonatan Quick

Cal Petersen

Expected Vancouver Canucks Lines Per Chris Faber:

J.T. Miller- Bo Horvat-Conor Garland

Andrei Kuzmenko-Elias Pettersson-Ilya Mikheyev

Nils Hoglander-Sheldon Dries-Brock Boeser

Dakota Joshua-Nils Aman-Curtis Lazar/Vasily Podkolzin

Defense:

Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Ethan Bear

Quinn Hughes-Luke Schenn

Riley Stillman-Tyler Myers

Goalies:

Thatcher Demko

Spencer Martin

Special Teams:

Los Angeles Kings Power Play: 15-77, 19.48%, 23rd in NHL

Los Angeles Kings Penalty Kill: 17-68, 75%, 24th in NHL

Vancouver Canucks Power Play: 18-61, 29.51%, 4th in NHL

Vancouver Canucks Penalty Kill: 21-58, 63.79%, 32nd in NHL

Los Angeles Kings Pre-Game Notes:

• Trevor Moore became the first California-born skater to record a hat trick for a California-based team in NHL history. 
•  Since his NHL debut, no Kings skater has found the back of the net on the man advantage more than Arthur Kaliyev (10).
• At 99 career NHL games, Kaliyev sits one shy of becoming the eighth member of the 2019 NHL Draft class to play in 100 career NHL

  games.

• The Kings enter tonight’s game with the league’s third-highest special team differential overall at +23:32.

How to Watch:

TV: Bally Sports West, ESPN+ // Radio: iHeartRadio