Game 20 Preview: Los Angeles at New Jersey

Los Angeles Kings (12-6-1) at New Jersey Devils(6-7-5)
Friday, November 15, 2013, 7:00 p.m. ET
Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
Referees: #10 Paul Devorski, #48 Graham Skilliter
Linesmen: #95 Jonny Murray, #79 Kiel Murchison
FOX Sports West, KTLK 1150 AM

Los Angeles Projected Starting Goaltender – Martin Jones
2013-14 Season: First appearance
Career vs New Jersey: First appearance
Last Game vs New Jersey: First appearance
2013-14, Away: First appearance
-Following team meetings, Darryl Sutter indicated that no decision had been made on tonight’s starter, though the team will need to eventually get Jones into a game at some point. Because the Kings are playing the second night of a back-to-back as part of a three games-in-four nights set, I’m projecting Martin Jones to make his NHL debut tonight. This is not a confirmation of tonight’s starter.

New Jersey Projected Starting Goaltender – Cory Schneider
2013-14 Season: 8 GP (8 GS) / 1-4-3 record / 2.09 GAA / .915 Sv% / 1 SHO
Career vs Los Angeles: 2 (2) / 2-0-0 / 1.00 / .960 / 1
Last Game vs Los Angeles: 3/23/13 / 60 MP / 20/20 / 1-0 W
2013-14, Home: 2 (2) / 1-0-1 / 2.00 / .096 / .953 / 1
-Including playoffs, Schneider has started five games against Los Angeles, winning three. He has a 1.19 goals against average (303 MP / 6 GA) and a .960 save percentage (145 saves / 151 shots) versus the Kings.

2013-14 Los Angeles Leaders
Total Points: Anze Kopitar (4-14=18)
Goals: Justin Williams (7-7=14)
Assists: Anze Kopitar (4-14=18)
Plus/Minus: Dustin Brown (+7; 3-4=7)
Penalty Minutes: Kyle Clifford (32; 1-0=1)
Time On Ice: Drew Doughty (25:47; 4-5=9)

2013-14 New Jersey Leaders
Total Points: Jaromir Jagr (5-9=14)
Goals: Jaromir Jagr (5-9=14), Michael Ryder (5-2=7), Adam Henrique (5-2=7)
Assists: Jaromir Jagr (5-9=14), Marek Zidlicky (2-9=11)
Plus/Minus: Jaromir Jagr (+6; 5-9=14)
Penalty Minutes: Marek Zidlicky (18; 2-9=11)
Time On Ice: Andy Greene (25:01; 1-5=6)

Rankings and Statistics
Goals/Game: LAK – 16 / 2.68; NJD – t-25 / 2.11
Goals Against/Game: LAK – 11 / 2.37; NJD – t-9 / 2.33
Power Play: LAK – t-9 / 20.6%; NJD – t-18 / 17.5%
Penalty Kill: LAK – 18 / 81.3%; NJD – 3 / 86.9%
Shots/Game: LAK – t-3 / 32.8; NJD – 29 / 25.7
Shots Against/Game: LAK – 3 / 25.3; NJD – 2 / 24.8
Faceoffs: LAK – 1 / 55.3%; NJD – 27 / 45.3%
Save Percentage: LAK – t-22 / .906; NJD – t-22 / .906

Los Angeles Projected Lines

Dustin Brown – Anze Kopitar – Justin Williams
Dwight King – Mike Richards – Matt Frattin
Tanner Pearson – Linden Vey – Tyler Toffoli
Jordan Nolan – Colin Fraser – Trevor Lewis

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

Martin Jones
Ben Scrivens

Level of confidence in projected lines: C-. The team did not skate this morning, so the above lines are projections based on the evolution of the game last night. Jarret Stoll is close to rejoining the lineup. If he is able to play tonight, it would be in place of Vey or Fraser. Though Fraser would be the likely choice, it’s no lock that he would leave the lineup due to his strong play at the faceoff dot recently; he also earned 14:00 of ice time last night. Vey’s best performance last night came on a late power play and when he was reunited with Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli late in the game. Sutter has also praised Toffoli ‘s chemistry with Mike Richards, so expect him to see some shifts there as well. As always, line projections are educated assessments and not definite alignments.

Notes and milestones: Los Angeles is 51-29-13 all-time against the New Jersey franchise, including a record of 21-19-7 on the road. The Kings are 3-1-1 in the last five regular season meetings against the Devils, dating back to February 7, 2009. With a 2-0-1 record, the Kings have points in their last three regular season trips to New Jersey. … The Kings have outshot their opponent 16 times in 19 games. Their +7.5 shot differential ranks third in the league behind San Jose (+9.8) and Chicago (+7.7). … Including playoffs, the Kings are 24-7-2 in the last 33 games Alec Martinez has dressed. … Tyler Toffoli has points in all five games since his recall and seven points total (3-4=7). … Anze Kopitar has seven points (3-4=7) in the last six games and 13 points (4-9=13) in the last 11 games. … Dwight King will play in his 100th career NHL game tonight. … Colin Fraser has won 40-of-65 faceoffs this season (61.5%). … Justin Williams will play in his 150th consecutive regular season game tonight, dating back to the first game of the 2011-12 season.

New Jersey Projected Lines

Dainius Zubrus – Travis Zajac – Jaromir Jagr
Damien Brunner – Patrik Elias – Michael Ryder
Adam Henrique – Andrei Loktionov – Steve Bernier
Ryan Carter – Stephen Gionta – Cam Janssen

Andy Greene – Marek Zidlicky
Adam Larsson – Eric Gelinas
Peter Harrold – Mark Fayne

Cory Schneider
Martin Brodeur

Notes and milestones: Lines via NHL.com’s At the Rink blog. … Patrik Elias (back spasms) was activated from injured reserve and will play tonight after missing six games. Stephen Gionta, who missed two games with a sore foot is also expected to play tonight. Bryce Salvador (foot), Ryane Clowe (concussion), Anton Volchenkov (leg) and Jon Merrill (face lacerations) will not play tonight. … After a 3-2 win at the New York Rangers on Wednesday, the Devils have points in four straight games (3-0-1). … This is the first regular season meeting between the teams since a 3-0 New Jersey win at STAPLES Center on November 25, 2011. The Kings and Devils will meet in Los Angeles on Thursday, November 21. … Jaromir Jagr has 1,702 career points (686-1016=1702), which trails Mario Lemieux (690-1033=1723) by just 21 points for seventh place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list. Jagr is the league’s all-time leader with 17 career overtime goals. With 15 overtime goals, Patrick Elias is tied for second on the list with Sergei Fedorov, Ilya Kovalchuk and Mats Sundin.