Game 24 Preview: Calgary at Los Angeles

Projected Starting Goaltender, Los Angeles – Jonathan Quick
Season: 18 GP (17 GS) / 8-7-2 record / 2.55 GAA / .895 Sv% / 0 SHO
Career vs Calgary: 12 (12) / 7-4-1 / 1.56 / .937 / 1
Last Game vs Calgary: 3/9/13 / 60 MP / 17/19 shots / 6-2 W
2012-13, Home: 8 (7) / 5-2-1 / 2.31 / .884 / 0

Projected Starting Goaltender, Calgary – Joey MacDonald
Season: 8 (6) / 3-3-1 / 2.96 / .900 / 0
Career vs Los Angeles: 3 (2) / 1-1-0 / 2.76 / .898 / 0
Last Game vs Los Angeles: 3/9/12 / 12 MP / 2/2 shots / 2-6 L (ND)
2012-13, Away: 4 (3) / 1-1-1 / 3.15 / .898 / 0

Leading Scorers, Los Angeles
Total Points: Anze Kopitar (8-14=22)
Goals: Jeff Carter (17-2=19)
Assists: Anze Kopitar (8-14=22)
Plus/Minus: Justin Williams (+12; 3-12=15)
Penalty Minutes: Jordan Nolan (33; 2-3=5)

Leading Scorers, Calgary
Total Points: Jarome Iginla (7-12=19)
Goals: Mike Cammalleri (9-8=17)
Assists: Jarome Iginla (7-12=19), Jiri Hudler (4-12=16)
Plus/Minus: Matt Stajan (+6; 3-9=12)
Penalty Minutes: Brian McGrattan (25; 0-0=0)

A stick tap goes to: Brian McGrattan. I was expecting to put the Flames enforcer in the “fist shake” category – he leads Calgary in penalty minutes despite appearing in only four games – and then I read this article. “It’s…quite a juxtaposition to have a guy who makes a living beating people up reaching out to give people a hand up when off the ice,” Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun wrote of McGrattan, who speaks with players on substance abuse issues and is working towards a degree in addiction counseling.

A fist shake goes to: Calgary’s save percentage. After allowing six goals on 24 shots Saturday night, the Flames have fallen to 28th in the league in the defensive statistic that goes beyond a numerical account of goaltending.

Why the Kings need to win this game: L.A. beat the same team 6-2 on Saturday night and needs to take advantage of its games in hand. Monday opens a three-games-in-four-nights stretch, and it would behoove the Kings to win the home game of the three against the team alone in the conference cellar. Nashville, the 11th-place team, is two points behind L.A.

Rankings and Statistics
Goals/Game: LAK – 10 / 2.91; CGY – 16 / 2.74
Goals Against/Game: LAK – 11 / 2.52; CGY – 28 / 3.30
Power Play: LAK – 15 / 17.2%; CGY – 9 / 20.2%
Penalty Kill: LAK – 15 / 81.3%; CGY – t-23 / 78.7%
Shots/Game: LAK – 16 / 28.8; CGY – t-18 / 28.4
Shots Against/Game: LAK – 2 / 24.2; CGY – 15 / 28.5
Faceoffs: LAK – 5 / 52.4%; CGY – 27 / 46.8%
Save Percentage: LAK – 24 / .896; CGY – 28 / .884

Projected Lines – Los Angeles

Dustin Brown – Anze Kopitar – Justin Williams
Dustin Penner – Mike Richards – Jeff Carter
Dwight King – Jarret Stoll – Trevor Lewis
Kyle Clifford – Colin Fraser – Jordan Nolan

Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Rob Scuderi – Slava Voynov
Keaton Ellerby – Alec Martinez

Jonathan Quick
Jonathan Bernier

Notes: The Kings aren’t expected to make any lineup changes despite calling Tyler Toffoli up from AHL-Manchester yesterday. Los Angeles is vying for its first season series sweep of Calgary since 1999-00. Following tonight, the Kings have only two scheduled games remaining against Canadian teams, and both are at home: Vancouver on Saturday, March 23, and Edmonton on Saturday, April 6. As always, line projections are educated assessments and not definite alignments.

Projected Lines – Calgary

Alex Tanguay – Matt Stajan – Lee Stempniak
Jiri Hudler – Michael Cammalleri – Jarome Iginla
Blake Comeau – Mikael Backlund – Roman Cervenka
Brian McGrattan – Steve Begin – Tim Jackman

Mark Giordano – Dennis Wideman
Chris Butler – Cody Sarich
T.J. Brodie – Jay Bouwmeester

Joey MacDonald
Miikka Kiprusoff

Notes: Line estimations per Roger Millions of Rogers Sportsnet. Curtis Glencross was a surprise scratch from Saturday’s game and has returned to Calgary to address an upper-body injury; per Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald, CBC footage caught Glencross “gingerly taping his right wrist”. Joey MacDonald started opposite Jonathan Bernier in Los Angeles’ 3-1 win at Calgary on February 20. As always, line projections are educated assessments and not definite alignments.