Game 78 Preview: Los Angeles at San Jose

Los Angeles Kings (45-26-6) at San Jose Sharks (48-20-9)
Thursday, April 3, 2014, 7:30 p.m. PT
SAP Center, San Jose, CA
Referees: #9 Dan O’Rourke, #37 Kyle Rehman
Linesmen: #74 Lonnie Cameron, #56 Mark Wheler
NBCSN, KEIB 1150 AM
Kings Weekly to follow tonight’s game

Los Angeles Projected Starting Goaltender – Martin Jones*
2013-14 Season: 17 GP (16 GS) / 11-5-0 record / 1.91 GAA / .933 Sv% / 3 SHO
Career vs San Jose: 1 (1) / 1-0-0 / 1.00 / .969 / 0
Last Game vs San Jose: 12/19/13 / 60 MP / 31-32 shots / 4-1 W
2013-14, Away: 10 (10) / 7-3-0 / 2.20 / .932 / 1
*The Kings did not hold a morning skate and do not announce starting goalies in advance. Jones is listed as an educated assessment.

San Jose Projected Starting Goaltender – Antti Niemi
2013-14 Season: 60 GP (60 GS) / 37-15-7 record / 2.38 GAA / .913 Sv% / 4 SHO
Career vs Los Angeles: 21 (21) / 11-6-3 / 2.52 / .919 / 2
Last Game vs Los Angeles: 12/19/13 / 60 MP / 28-32 shots / 1-4 L
2013-14, Home: 33 (33) / 24-5-4 / 2.17 / .916 / 1

2013-14 Los Angeles Leaders
Total Points: Anze Kopitar (25-40=65)
Goals: Jeff Carter (27-22=49)
Assists: Anze Kopitar (25-40=65)
Plus/Minus: Anze Kopitar (+30; 25-40=65)
Penalty Minutes: Kyle Clifford (81; 3-5=8)
Time On Ice: Drew Doughty (25:58; 10-27=37)

2013-14 San Jose Leaders
Total Points: Joe Pavelski (38-37=75)
Goals: Joe Pavelski (38-37=75)
Assists: Joe Thornton (11-63=63)
Plus/Minus: Marc-Eduard Vlasic (+31; 5-19=24)
Penalty Minutes: Andrew Desjardins (86; 3-13=16)
Time On Ice: Dan Boyle (21:16; 11-21=32)

Rankings and Statistics
Goals/Game: LAK – t-25 / 2.43; SJS – 7 / 2.95
Goals Against/Game: LAK – 1 / 2.05; SJS – 4 / 2.35
Power Play: LAK – 25 / 15.6%; SJS – 19 / 17.3%
Penalty Kill: LAK – 12 / 83.1%; SJS – 8 / 84.4%
Shots/Game: LAK – 8 / 31.4; SJS – 1 / 35.0
Shots Against/Game: LAK – 3 / 26.4; SJS – 6 / 27.7
Faceoffs: LAK – t-2 / 52.8%; SJS – 1 / 53.1%
Save Percentage: LAK – 2 / .922; SJS – t-7 / .915

Los Angeles Projected Lines

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

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

Martin Jones
Jonathan Quick

Level of confidence in projected lines: B. The team did not hold a morning skate today, so the projected lines are a reflection of those used by Los Angeles last night. Linden Vey has been recalled but is not expected to play tonight. Dwight King traveled on the road trip. He took shots at the SAP Center this morning and will continue to be evaluated. Though Jonathan Quick started both games of the back-to-back set last week, Martin Jones is projected to go tonight.

Notes and milestones: Los Angeles is 57-54-19 all-time against San Jose, a record that includes an away mark of 21-32-12. The Kings are 3-0-1 against the Sharks this season but 1-3-4 in their last eight regular season trips to the SAP Center, dating back to April 4, 2011. … With 45 wins, Los Angeles is one win shy of the club’s wins record. The 1990-91, 2009-10 and 2010-11 Kings finished with 46 wins, while the 2012-13 club was on pace for 46 wins in the lockout shortened season. … The Kings have qualified the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. The last time the Los Angeles made the playoffs five years in a row was from 1987-1993, when they qualified for seven consecutive seasons. … The Kings are 1-0-0 in a six-game stretch in which they will face all Pacific Division opponents once to close the season (W vs PHX, @ SJS, @ VAN, @ CGY, @ EDM, vs ANA). The Kings are 15-8-1 against the Pacific Division. … Los Angeles posted its franchise record 12th shutout of the season (Quick-6, Jones-3, Scrivens-3) last night, surpassing the 11 shutouts recorded by the 2011-12 Kings. … The Kings are 4-14 on the power play over the last five games. … With 31 career shutouts, Jonathan Quick is one shutout behind Rogie Vachon for the club’s all-time record. … Marian Gaborik has points in five straight games (1-5=6). … Anze Kopitar has 22 points (9-13=22) in the last 20 games. … Alec Martinez has 14 points (7-7=14) in the last 16 games. … Tanner Pearson has four points (1-3=4) in the last four games. … Drew Doughty is one assist behind Marty McSorley for fifth place amongst defensemen on the franchise’s all-time assist list. … Mike Richards is expected to play his 200th game with the Kings tonight. … Anze Kopitar is expected to play his 600th NHL game tonight.

San Jose Projected Lines

Joe Pavelski – Joe Thornton – Brent Burns
Patrick Marleau – Logan Couture – Tommy Wingels
Matt Nieto – James Sheppard – Tyler Kennedy
Marty Havlat – Andrew Desjardins – Mike Brown

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Jason Demers
Scott Hannan – Dan Boyle
Brad Stuart – Justin Braun

Antti Niemi
Alex Stalock

Notes and milestones: Lines via Kevin Kurz of CSNBayArea.com … Home teams are 19-1-1 in the last 21 games between the two teams, including playoffs. The one regulation loss occurred in the teams’ last meeting, a 1-0 Los Angeles win in San Jose on January 27. … On March 27, Joe Thornton became the 100th player in league history and the second Shark to appear in 1,200 NHL games. Only Patrick Marleau and Jarome Iginla have played in more NHL games than Thornton since his 1997-98 rookie season. In 64 career games against the Kings, Thornton has 61 points (13-48=61). … San Jose has qualified for the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons. The only professional sports teams with a longer active playoff streak are the Detroit Red Wings (22 seasons) and San Antonio Spurs (16 seasons). The Denver Nuggets have also qualified for the playoffs for 10 straight years. … The Sharks lead the league with 78 first period goals. … San Jose leads the league with a +7.1 shot differential. … Justin Braun is yet to record a point in 15 games against Los Angeles.