Game 72 Preview: Los Angeles at Philadelphia

Los Angeles Kings (40-25-6) at Philadelphia Flyers (38-25-7)
Monday, March 24, 2014, 4:00 p.m. PT
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Referees: #32 Tom Kowal, #17 Frederick L’Ecuyer
Linesmen: #56 Mark Wheler, #74 Lonnie Cameron
Fox Sports West, KEIB 1150 AM

Los Angeles Projected Starting Goaltender – Jonathan Quick
2013-14 Season: 41 GP (41 GS) / 23-15-2 record / 2.02 GAA / .917 Sv% / 5 SHO
Career vs Philadelphia: 6 (5) / 3-2-0 / 1.64 / .938 / 1
Last Game vs Philadelphia: 2/1/14 / 58 MP / 11-of-13 shots / 0-2 L
2013-14, Away: 15 (15) / 8-5-1 / 1.83 / .930 / 2

Philadelphia Projected Starting Goaltender – Ray Emery
2013-14 Season: 23 GP (17 GS) / 8-9-1 record / 2.96 GAA / .900 Sv% / 1 SHO
Career vs Los Angeles: 5 (3) / 2-0-1 / 1.34 / .955 / 0
Last Game vs Los Angeles: 2/17/13 / 60 MP / 25-of-27 shots / 3-2 W
2013-14, Home: 9 (4) / 4-1-0 / 2.52 / .910 / 0

2013-14 Los Angeles Leaders
Total Points: Anze Kopitar (22-36=58)
Goals: Jeff Carter (24-21=45)
Assists: Anze Kopitar (22-36=58)
Plus/Minus: Anze Kopitar (+26; 22-36=58)
Penalty Minutes: Kyle Clifford (77; 3-4=7)
Time On Ice: Drew Doughty (25:55; 8-27=35)

2013-14 Philadelphia Leaders
Total Points: Claude Giroux (24-50=74)
Goals: Claude Giroux (24-50=74), Wayne Simmonds (24-30=54)
Assists: Claude Giroux (24-50=74)
Plus/Minus: Scott Hartnell (+11; 19-27=46)
Penalty Minutes: Zac Rinaldo (126; 1-1=2)
Time On Ice: Andrew MacDonald (24:52; 4-21=25)

Rankings and Statistics
Goals/Game: LAK – 27 / 2.35; PHI – 9 / 2.86
Goals Against/Game: LAK – 1 / 2.04; PHI – t-17 / 2.76
Power Play: LAK – 25 / 15.1%; PHI – t-9 / 19.9%
Penalty Kill: LAK – 11 / 83.7%; PHI – 8 / 84.5%
Shots/Game: LAK – 8 / 31.4; PHI – t-16 / 29.8
Shots Against/Game: LAK – t-2 / 26.3; PHI – t-16 / 30.2
Faceoffs: LAK – 1 / 53.1%; PHI – 16 / 49.9%
Save Percentage: LAK – 2 / .922; PHI – t-19 / .909

Los Angeles Projected Lineup:

Marian Gaborik – Anze Kopitar – Justin Williams
Tanner Pearson – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli
Dwight King – Jarret Stoll – Dustin Brown
Kyle Clifford – Mike Richards – Trevor Lewis

Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Robyn Regehr – Slava Voynov
Willie Mitchell – Alec Martinez

Jonathan Quick
Martin Jones

Level of confidence in projected lines: B. The players are above are almost certainly the players who will play today; the larger question centers around their alignment. Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli flanked Jeff Carter against Florida and at practice on Sunday, but the Kings don’t have the benefit of last line change on the road, and there may be concern that the two rookies could face a significant challenge against a strong Philadelphia top-six. Expect Mike Richards, who played 14:45 against Florida while centering Kyle Clifford and Trevor Lewis, to see some shifts alongside Carter. Matt Greene and Jordan Nolan remained on the ice for extra work with Martin Jones, so they’re likely out. Jonathan Quick was the first goaltender off the ice and is the projected starter. Dustin Brown proclaimed himself ready to play this morning.

Notes and milestones: Los Angeles is 40-82-16 all-time against Philadelphia, a record that includes an away mark of 18-41-8 The Kings have won two straight at the Wells Fargo Center but are 3-6-1 in the last 10 road games of the series. This is Los Angeles’ first visit to Philadelphia since October 15, 2011, a 3-2 overtime Kings win. … Darryl Sutter will coach the 1,029th regular season game of his career tonight, moving past his brother, Brian, and into sole possession of 17th place on the NHL’s all-time games coached list. Sutter is 501-374-153 overall in his career and 91-54-22 with the Kings. … Jonathan Quick, who became the franchise’s all-time winningest goaltender on Saturday, is 8-2-0 in his last 10 games with a 1.39 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage. … Los Angeles has killed 30 of the last 33 penalties, dating back to the third period in Colorado on February 26. … The Kings have held their opponents to fewer than 30 shots on goal in 13 straight games. In the last six full periods, they have allowed eight shots or less. … Los Angeles has allowed two goals or fewer in 47 of 71 games, posting a 36-5-6 record in those games. … Anze Kopitar has 15 points (6-9=15) in the last 14 games. With 195 career goals, he sits in eighth place on the franchise’s all-time goal scoring list, one goal ahead of Dustin Brown. … With 162 assists, Drew Doughty is one assist behind Marty McSorley for fifth place on the franchise’s all-time defensemen assist list. … Alec Martinez has eight points (5-3=8) in the last 10 games. … Marian Gaborik is scheduled to play his 800th career game tonight. … The Kings have won 1,495 games in franchise history.

Philadelphia Projected Lineup

Scott Hartnell – Claude Giroux – Jakub Voracek
Vincent Lecavalier – Brayden Schenn – Wayne Simmonds
Matt Read – Sean Couturier – Tye McGinn
Zac Rinaldo – Michael Raffl – Adam Hall

Kimmo Timonen – Braydon Coburn
Mark Streit – Nicklas Grossmann
Andrew MacDonald – Luke Schenn

Ray Emery
Steve Mason

Notes and milestones: Lines via NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor Adam Kimmelman … Steve Downie is out with an upper-body injury sustained in Saturday’s win over St. Louis. … In their five game winning streak, the Flyers have outscored their opponents 19-8. … Philadelphia’s penalty kill has allowed one goal in the last 25 attempts against. … The Flyers have averaged 3.80 goals per game over the last 10 games. … Philadelphia has allowed 11 shorthanded goals, tied with Edmonton for the most in the NHL. The Flyers allowed a shorthanded goal to St. Louis’ Jaden Schwartz on Saturday. … With 17 (5-12=17) points in March, Claude Giroux leads all NHL skaters. He has points in six straight games (1-9=10). … Wayne Simmonds has reached a career high with 54 points (24-30=54). He is the only NHL player with more than 20 goals and 100 penalty minutes. … Andrew McDonald leads the NHL with 222 blocked shots, 39 more than any other player.