Kings vs Ducks Game 82: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

The Los Angeles Kings will end their season with a Freeway Faceoff, taking on the Anaheim Ducks Thursday at Honda Center.

Puck drops at 7:00 PM.

The Kings control their destiny now and can lock up third place with at least one point. 

Given the Kings' struggles down the stretch, they'll be looking for a strong performance to end the season. Allowing them to carry some momentum into the playoffs. 

Gabe Vilardi returned to the ice on his own before practice this morning. He won't play Thursday, but that's a good sign for his return before Game 1.

It's possible that rookie Alex Laferriere could make his NHL debut tonight, but for now, we'll assume no lineup changes.

Joonas Korpisalo was the first goalie off the ice at morning skate, indicating he'll be the starter. It will mark two straight starts for Korpisalo after his shutout performance on Monday.

Projected Los Angeles Kings Lines:

Quinton Byfield-Anze Kopitar-Adrian Kempe

Trevor Moore-Phil Danault-Viktor Arvidsson

Alex Iafallo-Blake Lizotte-Arthur Kaliyev

Carl Grundstrom-Rasmus Kupari-Jaret Anderson-Dolan

Defense:

Mikey Anderson-Drew Doughty

Vladislav Gavrikov -Matt Roy 

Sean-Durzi-Sean Walker

Goalies:

Joonas Korpisalo

Pheonix Copley

Projected Anaheim Ducks Lines:

Adam Henrique-Trevor Zegras-Troy Terry

Max Jones-Ryan Strome-Frank Vatrano

Nikita Nesterenko-Isac Lundestrom-Jakob Silfverberg

Derek Grant-Benoit-Olivier Groulx-Sam Carrick

Defense:

Cam Fowler-Simon Benoit

Kevin Shattenkirk-Drew Helleson

Jackson LaCombe-Colton White

Goalies:

John Gibson

Lukas Dostal

Special Teams:

Los Angeles Kings Power Play: 66-261, 25.29%, 3rd in NHL

Los Angeles Kings Penalty Kill: 65-267, 75.66%, 23rd in NHL

Anaheim Ducks Power Play: 36-227, 15.86%, 30th in NHL

Anaheim Ducks Penalty Kill: 76-272, 70.94%, 32nd in NHL

Los Angeles Kings Pregame Notes:

• The Kings have won their last five consecutive games against the Ducks and have collected points in seven of their last eight matchups (6-1-1). The team’s current five-game winning streak vs. Anaheim is tied for the second-longest in franchise history (5GP, Jan. 8, 2009 – Feb. 4, 2010).
• Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov skates into tonight riding a three-game point streak (2-1=3). Since his LA Kings debut on March 2, only Drew Doughty (6-5=11) has notched more points among team defensemen than Gavrikov’s nine (3-6=9).
• Anze Kopitar is set to appear in his 645th career road game tonight, moving one game shy of tying Dustin Brown (646) for the most road games played in franchise history. Entering tonight, Kopitar (1,291) sits just five regular-season games behind Brown (1,296) for most all-time in Kings history.
• Arthur Kaliyev scored his 13th goal of the season for his 28th point on the year Monday vs. Vancouver, establishing a new singleseason career high in points (13-15=28). Only three Kings skaters since 1990-91 have scored more goals for the franchise at 21 years of age or younger than Kaliyev (28): Anze Kopitar (79), Alex Frolov (38) and Drew Doughty (35).
• Defenseman Drew Doughty registered his ninth goal of the season on Monday vs. Vancouver to reach the 50-point mark (9-41=50) for the fourth time in his career. In doing so, Doughty ties Rob Blake (4x) and Steve Duchesne (4x) for the most 50-point seasons among Kings defensemen in club history.

How to Watch:

TV: Bally Sports West; Radio: iHeartRadio