Kings vs Bruins Game 42: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

In their second of three straight games against division leaders, the Los Angeles Kings (22-13-6) take on the Boston Bruins (29-4-4) Thursday night.

Puck drops at 7:30 PM.

There was a lot of talk about trap games after the Kings' loss against the Philadelphia Flyers last Saturday. Now, the Kings sit on the opposite side of a potential "trap" game. If there was a risk of not showing enough respect to the Flyers, there's a risk of showing too much to Boston Thursday.

"I think we have to show our opponents the respect they deserve," said Todd McLellan Thursday morning. "When you're sitting on top of the league with that kind of record, they (Boston) deserve the utmost respect and attention. But, that doesn't mean we shouldn't play our game and try to impose it on them. And that will be a goal of ours."

There's only one change expected in the Kings' lineup, with Brendan Lemieux expected to replace Carl Grundstrom on the fourth line.

"Brendan Lemieux has to play and he has to get his game going," said McLellan. "And this is his opportunity to get his game going, I understand that people get hurt and it's hard to come back. Especially from lower-body injuries, you look at Iafallo and he's just really getting going now. We saw Brendan's injury last year and what it did to his game. But we need him, he's a valuable player and he needs to play. But it's also on him to get his game going."

Other than Lemieux drawing in, every other line stays the same. This gives Quinton Byfield a chance to build on his performance against the Dallas Stars Tuesday, a game McLellan labeled as Byfield's best of the season. 

As he gets more confident and comfortable on that line, Byfield can develop a consistency he's been missing in his career thus far. 

"Just playing with those guys, I've played with them for a couple of games now, getting more of a feel for what they do," Byfield said on his improved play against Dallas. "Just being available for them, doing little things like that, get the puck back to them and let them go to work and get open space."

Pheonix Copley is expected in net again. He's now beaten three division leaders this season, Boston, Dallas, and the Vegas Golden Knights and will be looking to take down the Bruins again. 

Los Angeles Kings Lines:

Quinton Byfield-Anze Kopitar-Adrian Kempe

Alex Iafallo-Phil Danault-Viktor Arvidsson

Kevin Fiala-Blake Lizotte-Gabe Vilardi

Brendan Lemieux-Rasmus Kupari-Jaret Anderson-Dolan

Defense:

Mikey Anderson-Drew Doughty

Sean Durzi-Matt Roy

Alex Edler-Sean Walker

Goalies:

Pheonix Copley

Jonathan Quick

Expected Boston Bruins Lines:

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak

Taylor Hall-David Krejci-Pavel Zacha

Nick Foligno-Charlie Coyle-Trent Frederic

A.J. Greer-Tomas Nosek-Craig Smith

Defense:

Matt Grzelcyk-Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort-Connor Clifton

Goalies:

Linus Ullmark

Jeremy Swayman

Special Teams:

Los Angeles Kings Power Play: 34-145, 23.45%, 13th in NHL

Los Angeles Kings Penalty Kill: 40-144, 72.22%, 28th in NHL

Boston Bruins Power Play: 37-137, 27.01%, 6th in NHL

Boston Bruins Penalty Kill: 20-134, 85.07%, 1st in NHL

Los Angeles Kings Pre-Game Notes:

• Tonight’s game has the potential to feature two Alaska-born goaltenders for the first time in league history. (Pheonix Copley – North Pole, AK; Jeremy Swayman – Anchorage, AK). 
• The LA Kings are 4-0 in shootouts all-time against the Boston Bruins. 
• Matt Roy is one goal shy from establishing a new single-season career high of five.
• Rasmus Kupari scored his third goal of the season Tuesday night versus Dallas, marking his 20th career point (9-11=20). 
• Only Carolina (14) and Vegas (14) have won more one-goal games this season than the Kings (12). 

How to Watch:

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