Game 32 Preview: Los Angeles at St. Louis

Los Angeles Kings (15-10-6) at St. Louis Blues (20-8-2)
Tuesday, December 16, 2014, 5:00 p.m. PT
Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO
Referees: #16 Brian Pochmara, #22 Ghislain Hebert
Linesmen: #98 John Grandt, #94 Bryan Pancich
Fox Sports West, KABC 790 AM

Ken Hitchcock, on the Kings-Blues home-and-home series:

Los Angeles Projected Starting Goaltender – Jonathan Quick
2014-15: 24 GP (24 GS) / 12-7-5 record / 2.16 GAA / .929 Sv% / 3 SHO
Career vs St. Louis: 16 (15) / 7-8-1 / 2.12 / .926 / 3
Last Game vs St. Louis: 10/16/14 / 65 MP / 43-43 shots / 1-0 W
2014-15, Away: 10 (10) / 2-4-4 / 3.03 / .908 / 0

St. Louis Projected Starting Goaltender – Jake Allen
2014-15: 15 GP (14 GS) / 10-3-1 record / 2.50 GAA / .907 Sv% / 2 SHO
Career vs Los Angeles: First appearance
Last Game vs Los Angeles: First appearance
2014-15, Home: 7 (6) / 5-1-1 / 2.59 / .893 / 1

2014-15 Los Angeles Leaders
Total Points: Tyler Toffoli (10-13=23)
Goals: Tanner Pearson (11-3=14)
Assists: Drew Doughty (3-14=17)
Plus/Minus: Tyler Toffoli (+14; 10-13=23)
Penalty Minutes: Matt Greene (38; 2-1=3)
Time On Ice: Drew Doughty (28:55; 3-14=17)
Corsi-For Percentage: Jake Muzzin (57.9%; 2-13=15)

2014-15 St. Louis Leaders
Total Points: Vladimir Tarasenko (17-15=32)
Goals: Vladimir Tarasenko (17-15=32)
Assists: Kevin Shattenkirk (4-22=26)
Plus/Minus: Vladimir Tarasenko (+17; 17-15=32)
Penalty Minutes: Ryan Reaves (41; 3-2=5)
Time On Ice: Alex Pietrangelo (25:41; 3-14=17)
Corsi-For Percentage: Patrick Berglund (56.1%; 3-5=8)

Rankings and Statistics
Goals/Game: LAK – 17 / 2.61; STL – 12 / 2.88
Goals Against/Game: LAK – 3 / 2.23; STL – 4 / 2.27
Power Play: LAK – t-20 / 15.5%; STL – 5 / 23.2%
Penalty Kill: LAK – 11 / 82.4%; STL – t-17 / 80.8%
Shots/Game: LAK – 6 / 31.5; STL – t-3 / 32.1
Shots Against/Game: LAK – 19 / 30.0; STL – 2 / 27.1
Faceoffs: LAK – 11/ 51.2%; STL – 3 / 53.1%
Save Percentage: LAK – 3 / .926; STL – t-10 / .916
Corsi-For Percentage: LAK – 4 / 53.3%; STL – t-16 / 50.7%

Los Angeles Projected Lines

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

Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Robyn Regehr – Alec Martinez
Brayden McNabb – Matt Greene

Jonathan Quick
Martin Jones

Level of confidence in projected lines: B+. There may be some adjustments on defense, though the above alignment reflects what was used during the morning skate. Jonathan Quick left the ice and is projected to start, while Martin Jones, Jamie McBain and Jordan Nolan remained on for extra work and aren’t expected to play tonight.

Notes and milestones: The Kings are 72-95-24 all-time against the Blues, a record that includes an away mark of 26-59-11. Los Angeles is 17-4-0 in its last 21 regular season and playoff meetings with St. Louis. After a 1-0 (SO) Kings win on October 16, the Kings are 1-0-0 in the season series, which will conclude on Thursday at Staples Center. … Los Angeles is 9-4-3 against the Western Conference and 5-3-1 against the Central Division. … The Kings are 2-6 when the game extends into overtime and 1-4 in shootouts. Los Angeles shooters are 2-for-17 in shootouts, while Jonathan Quick have stopped 10-of-16 shots. … The Kings have averaged 2.94 goals per game over their last 17 games (50 G / 17 GP). … Los Angeles has outshot their opponents in seven consecutive games (3-3-1), averaging 35.6 shots per game. Opposing goalies have posted a .944 save percentage over that span (251 saves / 266 shots). … The Kings are 3-for-32 on the power play over the last 10 games. … Los Angeles has recorded 172 shot attempts over the last two games. … Jeff Carter has been held without a goal for 12 consecutive games, while Anze Kopitar has one goal in his last 13 games and is a minus-six in his last three games.

St. Louis Projected Lines

Alexander Steen – David Backes – Jaden Schwartz
Magnus Paajarvi – Jori Lehtera – Vladimir Tarasenko
Patrik Berglund – Paul Stastny – Steve Ott
Chris Porter – Maxim Lapierre – Ryan Reaves

Jay Bouwmeester – Alex Pietrangelo
Barret Jackman – Kevin Shattenkirk
Chris Butler – Petteri Lindbohm

Jake Allen
Martin Brodeur

Notes and milestones: T.J. Oshie will miss tonight’s game due to personal reasons. … St. Louis has killed off 27 consecutive power plays against Los Angeles. … The Blues have points in seven straight home games (6-0-1). … Paul Stastny has 30 points (11-19=30) in 30 career games against the Kings. … Barret Jackman has 999 career penalty minutes. … Kevin Shattenkirk (4-22=26) ranks second amongst league defensemen with 26 points this season, trailing only Calgary’s Mark Giordano (8-22=30). … Vladimir Tarasenko is tied for third in the league with 17 goals. St. Louis is 11-2-0 when he scores.