Game 71 Preview: Los Angeles vs Boston

Los Angeles Kings (43-22-5) vs. Boston Bruins (39-25-8)
Saturday, March 19, 2016, 7:30 p.m. PT
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Referees: #28 Chris Lee, #16 Brian Pochmara
Linesmen: #56 Mark Wheler, #68 Scott Driscoll
FOX Sports West, KABC 790 AM, I Heart Radio

Los Angeles Projected Starting Goaltender – Jonathan Quick
2015-16: 57 GP (57 GS) / 36-17-4 record / 2.16 GAA / .920 Sv% / 4 SHO
Career vs Boston: 12 (12) / 8-4-0 / 2.04 / .929 / 2
Last Game vs Boston: 2/9/16 / 60 MP / 35-37 shots / 9-2 W
2015-16, Home: 33 (33) / 20-11-2 / 2.27 / .907 / 1

Boston Projected Starting Goaltender – Tuukka Rask
2015-16: 55 GP (53 GS) / 28-19-7 record / 2.52 GAA / .918 Sv% / 4 SHO
Career vs Los Angeles: 4 (4) / 2-2-0 / 3.10 / .926 / 1
Last Game vs Los Angeles: 2/9/16 / 32 MP / 27-32 shots / 9-2 L
2015-16, Away: 25 (24) / 15-6-3 / 2.17 / .932 / 1

2015-16 Los Angeles Leaders
Total Points: Anze Kopitar (24-40=64)
Goals: Tyler Toffoli (26-22=48)
Assists: Anze Kopitar (24-40=64)
Plus/Minus: Anze Kopitar (+31; 24-40=64)
Penalty Minutes: Brayden McNabb (84; 2-7=9)
Time On Ice: Drew Doughty (28:12; 13-32=45)
Corsi-For Percentage: Nick Shore (60.7%; 3-7=10)

2015-16 Boston Leaders
Total Points: Patrice Bergeron (28-33=61)
Goals: Brad Marchand (34-20=54)
Assists: David Krejci (15-39=54)
Plus/Minus: Brad Marchand (+21; 34-20=54)
Penalty Minutes: Brad Marchand (88; 34-20=54)
Time On Ice: Zdeno Chara (24:03; 8-24=32)
Corsi-For Percentage: Patrice Bergeron (54.3%; 28-33=61)

Rankings and Statistics
Goals/Game: LAK – 10 / 2.74; BOS – 3 / 2.93
Goals Against/Game: LAK – 1 / 2.24; BOS – 19 / 2.69
Power Play: LAK – t-7 / 21.3%; BOS – t-7 / 21.3%
Penalty Kill: LAK – 16 / 81.2%; BOS – 9 / 82.2%
Shots/Game: LAK – 3 / 32.2; BOS – 4 / 31.4
Shots Against/Game: LAK – 4 / 27.7; BOS – t-23 / 30.9
Faceoffs: LAK – t-9 / 50.5%; BOS – t-15 / 50.0%
Save Percentage: LAK – t-3 / .919; BOS – t-14 / .913
Corsi-for Percentage: LAK – 1 / 55.9% / BOS – 19 / 48.5%

Los Angeles Projected Lines

Milan Lucic – Anze Kopitar – Kris Versteeg
Kyle Clifford – Jeff Carter – Dustin Brown
Dwight King – Nick Shore – Tyler Toffoli
Tanner Pearson – Vincent Lecavalier – Trevor Lewis

Rob Scuderi – Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin – Alec Martinez
Brayden McNabb – Luke Schenn

Jonathan Quick
Jhonas Enroth

Notes and milestones: Los Angeles is 41-81-14 all-time against Boston, a record that includes a home mark of 25-34-8. The Kings are 7-4-0 in the last 11 overall games in the series and won, 9-2, in the teams’ previous meeting at TD Garden this year. … Los Angeles is 19-9-3 against the Eastern Conference and 9-4-2 against the Atlantic Division. Tonight’s game is the final regular season game against an Eastern Conference opponent. … The Kings are 11-3 in overtime and 13-5 in games that extend past 60 minutes (the 13 wins in extra time leads the league). They lead the league with eight wins when entering the third period trailing and rank second with 16 wins when allowing the game’s first goal. … Los Angeles’ 91 points through 70 games is tied for the most points through 70 games in franchise history (also 1974-75; 36-15-19). The 43 wins are the most wins at the 70-game mark in franchise history (previously 41, 2009-10). … Anze Kopitar ranks second in the league with a +31 rating (Evgeny Kuznetsov; +33). He has 12 points (6-6=12) in the last nine games. … Milan Lucic has points in eight consecutive games (3-7=10), tying a career-long. It is tied for the longest point-streak by any King this season (Jake Muzzin, January 2-19; 1-7=8). … Dustin Brown has goals in three straight games (3-1=4), his longest goal streak since a three-game streak from March 25-30, 2013. … With 36 wins, Jonathan Quick has the second most wins in the league. The 36 wins are tied for the second most wins in a single season by a Kings goaltender, which he equaled last year. He holds the record of 39, set in 2009-10. … With 29 assists, Jake Muzzin is two assists shy of his career-high 31 assists, set last season. … Nick Shore is expected to play in his 99th career game. … Vincent Lecavalier has 22 goals and 52 points in 56 career games against Boston. … 11 of the last 13 games in the series have been decided by one or two goals. … In 566 regular season games with Boston between 2007-15, Milan Lucic totaled 342 points (139-203=342), a plus-94 rating and 772 penalty minutes.

Boston Projected Lines

Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – Lee Stempniak
Loui Eriksson – David Krejci – David Pastrnak
Matt Beleskey – Ryan Spooner – Brett Connolly
Landon Ferraro – Noel Acciari – Jimmy Hayes

Zdeno Chara – Kevan Miller
John-Michael Liles – Dennis Seidenberg
Torey Krug – Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Jonas Gustavsson

Notes and milestones: Chris Kelly (broken left femur) has resumed skating but remains on IR and is not expected to play tonight. … Boston is 23-9-3 on the road. … The Bruins are 10-12-3 against the Western Conference and 4-6-3 against the Pacific Division. … Boston concludes its 10th of 11 back-to-back sets tonight. They are 5-3-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. … The Bruins have lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time since January 11-13. They have not lost three straight in regulation since December 22-27. … Matt Beleskey is expected to play in his 400th NHL game. … 16 of Patrice Bergeron’s 28 goals have given Boston the lead. … The Bruins are 30-5-5 when Brad Marchand has a point. Marchand’s career-high 34 goals are the most by a Bruin since Phil Kessel scored 36 in 2008-09. Glen Murray, who scored 44 goals in 2002-03, was the last Bruin to reach the 40-goal mark. … Bergeron (+117) and Marchand (+112) are the NHL’s cumulative leaders in plus-minus since the start of the 2011-12 season. … Marchand has eight goals and 10 points in nine career games against Los Angeles. … Valencia native Kevan Miller played minor hockey with the L.A. Junior Kings, Ventura Mariners and West Valley Wolves.