Game 25 Preview: Los Angeles vs Boston

Los Angeles Kings (12-7-5) vs Boston Bruins (14-10-1)
Tuesday, December 2, 2014, 7:30 p.m. PT
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Referees: #37 Kyle Rehman, #9 Dan O’Rourke
Linesmen: #82 Ryan Galloway, #84 Tony Sericolo
Fox Sports West, KABC 790 AM

Boston Bruins v Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles Projected Starting Goaltender – Jonathan Quick
2014-15: 19 GP (19 GS) / 10-5-4 record / 2.26 GAA / .929 Sv% / 2 SHO
Career vs Boston: 9 (9) / 6-3-0 / 2.26 / .916 / 1
Last Game vs Boston: 1/20/14 / 59 MP / 20-23 shots / 2-3 L
2014-15, Home: 12 (12) / 9-2-1 / 1.60 / .946 / 2

Boston Projected Starting Goaltender – Tuukka Rask*
2014-15: 19 GP (19 GS) / 11-7-1 record / 2.35 GAA / .918 Sv% / 1 SHO
Career vs Los Angeles: 2 (2) / 1-1-0 / 2.20 / .949 / 1
Last Game vs Los Angeles: 1/9/14 / 22 MP / 15-18 shots / 2-4 L
2014-15, Away: 6 (6) / 2-4-0 / 3.26 / .882 / 0

*Boston did not name its starting goaltender in advance, and today’s morning skate was optional. Rask, who started last night in Anaheim, is listed as the projected starter by default; Niklas Svedberg may start instead. A clearer indication of the Bruins’ starter will come during tonight’s warm-ups.

Boston Bruins v Buffalo Sabres

2014-15 Los Angeles Leaders
Total Points: Tyler Toffoli (9-10=19)
Goals: Tyler Toffoli (9-10=19), Tanner Pearson (9-3=12)
Assists: Jeff Carter (7-11=18), Drew Doughty (2-11=13)
Plus/Minus: Tyler Toffoli (+13; 9-10=19)
Penalty Minutes: Matt Greene (36; 1-1=2)
Time On Ice: Drew Doughty (28:59; 2-11=13)
Corsi-For Percentage: Jake Muzzin (58.9%; 1-10=11)

2014-15 Boston Leaders
Total Points: Carl Soderberg (5-12=17)
Goals: Brad Marchand (6-6=12)
Assists: Carl Soderberg (5-12=17)
Plus/Minus: Loui Eriksson (+5; 3-10=13), Brad Marchand (+5; 6-6=12)
Penalty Minutes: Milan Lucic (47; 5-7=12)
Time On Ice: Dougie Hamilton (22:19; 5-10=15)
Corsi-For Percentage: Patrice Bergeron (58.9%; 5-11=16)

Boston Bruins v Los Angeles Kings

Rankings and Statistics
Goals/Game: LAK – 13 / 2.67; BOS – 22 / 2.44
Goals Against/Game: LAK – 5 / 2.25; BOS – 10 / 2.44
Power Play: LAK – 21 / 16.5%; BOS – 18 / 17.7%
Penalty Kill: LAK – 10 / 84.2%; BOS – t-20 / 79.2%
Shots/Game: LAK – t-20 / 29.6; BOS – t-15 / 30.0
Shots Against/Game: LAK – 23 / 31.4; BOS – t-11 / 28.8
Faceoffs: LAK – 8 / 52.0%; BOS – 7 / 52.1%
Save Percentage: LAK – 2 / .928; BOS – t-10 / .915
Corsi-For Percentage: LAK – 12 / 51.3%; BOS – 5 / 53.0%

Boston Bruins v Buffalo Sabres

Los Angeles Projected Lines

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

Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Brayden McNabb – Matt Greene
Robyn Regehr – Jamie McBain

Jonathan Quick
Martin Jones

Level of confidence in projected lines: B+. Line rushes at the outset of the morning skate eventually evolved into different groupings, but the above projection should be aligned together tonight. Alec Martinez took a rush with Slava Voynov – an indication that he’s probably not in – and isn’t likely to make his return to the lineup tonight, though it’s still possible. Jonathan Quick left the ice first at the morning skate.

Notes and milestones: Los Angeles is 39-80-14 all-time against Boston, a record that includes a home mark of 24-34-8. The Kings are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games overall against the Bruins and will play at TD Garden on January 31. … Los Angeles is 4-3-2 against the Eastern Conference and 2-1-0 against the Atlantic Division. … The Kings have averaged 3.33 goals over the last 10 games and have been held below three goals only twice in that span. … Los Angeles has successfully killed 45-of-50 power plays at home this season, the third best home rate in the league. … With a home record of 10-3-1, the Kings are tied for the most points (21) and wins at home in the NHL. … Los Angeles is 9-0-3 when scoring the game’s first goal and 12-1-1 when allowing two goals or less. … Jake Muzzin has 11 points (1-10=11) in the last 11 games. … By playing tonight, Matt Greene will tie Neil Komadoski (378 GP w/ LA) for 12th place on the Kings’ all-time list of games played by a defenseman. … Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar are one game-winning goal from surpassing Mike Murphy and Butch Goring for fifth place on the club’s all-time list and tying Rob Blake for fourth place. … Drew Doughty (61-173=234) is tied with Marty McSorley for fifth place on the club’s all-time defensemen scoring list.

Boston Bruins v Montreal Canadiens

Boston Projected Lines

Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak
Milan Lucic – Carl Soderberg – Loui Eriksson
Matt Fraser – Chris Kelly – Reilly Smith
Simon Gagne – Gregory Campbell – David Paille

Dennis Seidenberg – Dougie Hamilton
Joe Morrow – Torey Krug
Matt Bartkowski – Kevan Miller

Tuukka Rask
Niklas Svedberg

Notes and milestones: Because Tukka Rask played yesterday, it is possible that Niklas Svedberg will start in net tonight. Boston will be without David Krejci (undisclosed), Zdeno Chara (knee), Adam McQuaid (thumb) and David Warsofsky (groin). … The Bruins are 3-3-0 against the Western Conference and 2-1-0 against the Pacific Division. … Boston is 0-4-0 on the second game of back-to-back sets this season. … The Bruins have outscored the Kings 541-415 all-time in head-to-head match-ups. … Nine of the last 10 meetings in the series have been decided by one goal or two goals. … Seven consecutive Boston games have been decided by one or two goals. … Patrice Bergeron ranks second in the NHL with a 59.4% faceoff rate since the start of the 2011-12 season; only Manny Malhotra’s percentage is higher. Bergeron ranks third in the league with a 58.0% rate this season. … Of the 27 players on the Bruins’ roster (includes injured players), 13 were acquired via trade, nine were drafted by the team and five were signed as free agents. … Patrice Bergeron has 11 points (3-8=11) in 11 career games against the Kings. … Brad Marchand has seven points (5-2=7) in six career games against the Kings. … Boston forward Simon Gagne totaled 22 points (7-15=22) in 45 regular season games with the Kings in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. A member of the club’s 2012 Cup team, Gagne appeared in Games 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final.

Boston Bruins v Toronto Maple Leafs

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