Game 36 Preview: Los Angeles at Edmonton

Los Angeles Kings (22-11-2) at Edmonton Oilers (15-19-3)
Tuesday, December 29, 2015, 6:00 p.m. PT
Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB
Referees: #19 Gord Dwyer, #29 Ian Walsh
Linesmen: #63 Trent Knorr, #89 Steve Miller
Fox Sports West, KABC 790 AM, I Heart Radio

Los Angeles Projected Starting Goaltender – Jhonas Enroth
2015-16: 7 GP (6 GS) / 3-2-1 record / 1.90 GAA / .939 Sv% / 1 SHO
Career vs Edmonton: 2 (2) / 0-2-0 / 3.05 / .903 / 0
Last Game vs Edmonton: 1/29/15 / 59 MP / 31-34 shots / 2-3 L
2015-16, Away: 6 (5) / 2-2-1 / 2.06 / .933 / 1

Edmonton Projected Starting Goaltender – Cam Talbot
2015-16: 18 GP (16 GS) / 5-9-2 record / 2.93 GAA / .904 Sv% / 0 SHO
Career vs Los Angeles: 4 (4) / 1-3-0 / 3.58 / .891 / 0
Last Game vs Los Angeles: 11/14/15 / 59 MP / 24-28 shots / 3-4 L
2015-16, Home: 7 (6) / 3-3-0 / 2.80 / .910 / 0

2015-16 Los Angeles Leaders
Total Points: Jeff Carter (11-17=28), Tyler Toffoli (17-11=28)
Goals: Tyler Toffoli (17-11=28)
Assists: Jeff Carter (11-17=28)
Plus/Minus: Tyler Toffoli (+21; 17-11=28)
Penalty Minutes: Andy Andreoff (41; 2-0=2)
Time On Ice: Drew Doughty (27:56; 6-16=22)
Corsi-For Percentage: Nick Shore (62.1%; 2-4=6)

2015-16 Edmonton Leaders
Total Points: Taylor Hall (15-25=40)
Goals: Taylor Hall (15-25=40)
Assists: Taylor Hall (15-25=40)
Plus/Minus: Taylor Hall (+12; 15-25=40), Leon Draisaitl (+12; 9-22=31)
Penalty Minutes: Eric Gryba (31; 0-4=4)
Time On Ice: Oscar Klefbom (21:53; 4-8=12)
Corsi-For Percentage: Bandon Davidson (52.9%; 2-3=5)

Rankings and Statistics
Goals/Game: LAK – 15 / 2.60; EDM – 27 / 3.05
Goals Against/Game: LAK – 2 / 2.23; EDM – t-22 / 2.76
Power Play: LAK – 17 / 18.4%; EDM – 24 / 17.0%
Penalty Kill: LAK – 7 / 82.7%; EDM – t-16 / 80.3%
Shots/Game: LAK – 1 / 32.4; EDM – 20 / 28.8
Shots Against/Game: LAK – 5 / 28.2; EDM – 28/ 31.3
Faceoffs: LAK – 21 / 49.5%; EDM – t-17 / 49.8 %
Save Percentage: LAK – t-4 / .921; EDM – 24 / .903
Corsi-For Percentage: LAK – 1 / 56.5%; EDM – 21 / 48.4%

Los Angeles Projected Lineup

Milan Lucic – Anze Kopitar – Tyler Toffoli
Tanner Pearson – Nick Shore – Marian Gaborik
Trevor Lewis – Andy Andreoff – Dustin Brown
Michael Mersch – Jordan Weal – Jordan Nolan

Brayden McNabb – Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin – Alec Martinez
Derek Forbort – Jamie McBain

Jhonas Enroth
Jonathan Quick

Notes and milestones: Los Angeles is 77-80-39 all-time against Edmonton, a record that includes an away mark of 37-44-18. The Kings are 2-0-0 in the season series thus far, winning one-goal games in Edmonton on October 25 (3-2) and in Los Angeles on November 14 (4-3). These teams will conclude the season series with a pair of games at Staples Center on February 25 and March 26. This is the Kings’ final regular season game ever at Rexall Place. … Los Angeles is 12-6-0 against the Western Conference and 6-5-0 against the Pacific Division. The Kings are 2-1-0 over a stretch of five consecutive games against the Pacific Division (L vs SJS, W @ ARI, W @ VAN, 12/29 @ EDM, 12/31 @ CGY). … Anze Kopitar ranks second in the NHL with an average ice time of 21:14. He has been a plus-or-even rating in 30 of 34 games this season. … Tyler Toffoli is tied for first in the league with a plus-21 rating and has eight points (6-2=8) in the last six games. His 17 goals are tied for the seventh most in the league. … With 243 career assists, Dustin Brown is one assist behind Charlie Simmer for the 12th most assists in franchise history. … Los Angeles has nine wins (tied for second in the NHL) when allowing the game’s first goal (8-7-1) and a league-leading five wins when trailing entering the third period (5-8-0).

Edmonton Projected Lines

Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Teddy Purcell
Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Lauri Korpikoski
Luke Gazdic – Anton Lander – Iiro Pakarinen

Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne
Darnell Nurse – Justin Schultz
Brad Hunt – Eric Gryba

Cam Talbot
Anders Nilsson

Notes and milestones: Lines via NHL.com correspondent Derek Van Diest. … Via Van Diest, Edmonton is expected to be without Connor McDavid (collarbone), Rob Klinkhammer (ankle), Nail Yakupov (ankle), Brandon Davidson (ribs), Oscar Klefbom (finger) and Andrew Ference (undisclosed). … The Oilers have won seven consecutive games at home dating back to a 5-1 win against New Jersey on November 20. They have won eight straight home games twice in franchise history: January 19 – February 22, 1985, and February 24 – April 2, 1986. … Edmonton has outscored opponents 30-29 in first periods this season but has been outscored 81-58 in second and third periods. … Taylor Hall is tied for fourth in the league with 40 points, tied for sixth with 25 assists, and ranks second with 152 shots on goal. He has posted 25 shots over his last five games. … Teddy Purcell recorded 25 points (8-17=25) in 91 games with Los Angeles from 2007-09. … Andrej Sekera recorded four points (1-3=4) in 16 games with Los Angeles in 2014-15 and has totaled five points (1-4=5) and a plus-four rating in 10 career games against the Kings.