Game 1 Preview: Los Angeles vs San Jose

Los Angeles Kings (0-0-0) vs San Jose Sharks (0-0-0)
Wednesday, October 8, 2014, 7:30 p.m. PT
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Referees: #13 Dan O’Halloran, #9 Dan O’Rourke
Linesmen: #86 Brad Lazarowich, #56 Mark Wheler
NBCSN, KABC 790 AM
-Pre-game ceremony will begin following tonight’s Flyers-Bruins game

Game Preview, featuring Derek from Fear the Fin:

Los Angeles Projected Starting Goaltender – Jonathan Quick*
2013-14: 49 GP (49 GS) / 27-17-4 record / 2.07 GAA / .916 Sv% / 6 SHO
Career vs San Jose: 21 (21) / 11-4-5 / 2.44 / .912 / 3
Last Game vs San Jose: 1/27/14 / 60 MP / 23-23 shots / 1-0 W
2013-14, Home: 30 (30) / 17-11-2 / 2.10 / .909 / 4
*last year’s stats listed

San Jose Projected Starting Goaltender – Antti Niemi*
2013-14: 64 GP (64 GS) / 39-17-7 record / 2.39 GAA / .913 Sv% / 4 SHO
Career vs Los Angeles: 22 (22) / 12-6-3 / 2.45 / .921 / 2
Last Game vs Los Angeles: 4/3/14 / 60 MP / 26-27 shots / 2-1 W
2013-14, Away: 29 (29) / 14-11-3 / 2.68 / .908 / 3
*last year’s stats listed

2013-14 Los Angeles Leaders (last year)
Total Points: Anze Kopitar (29-41=70)
Goals: Anze Kopitar (29-41=70)
Assists: Anze Kopitar (29-41=70)
Plus/Minus: Anze Kopitar (+34; 29-41=70)
Penalty Minutes: Kyle Clifford (81; 3-5=8)
Time On Ice: Drew Doughty (25:42; 10-27=37)
Corsi-For Percentage: Jake Muzzin (61.3%; 5-19=24)

2013-14 San Jose Leaders (last year)
Total Points: Joe Pavelski (41-38=79)
Goals: Joe Pavelski (41-38=79)
Assists: Joe Thornton (11-65=76)
Plus/Minus: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (+31; 5-19=24)
Penalty Minutes: Andrew Desjardins (86; 3-14=17)
Time On Ice: Justin Braun* (20:59; 4-13=17)
Corsi-For Percentage: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (58.2%; 5-19=24)
*amongst returning players; Dan Boyle led San Jose in ice time last season.

Rankings and Statistics (last year)
Goals/Game: LAK – 26 / 2.42; SJS – t-6 / 2.92
Goals Against/Game: LAK – 1 / 2.05; SJS – 5 / 2.35
Power Play: LAK – 27 / 15.1%; SJS – t-19 / 17.2%
Penalty Kill: LAK – 11 / 83.1%; SJS – 6 / 84.9%
Shots/Game: LAK – 7 / 31.6; SJS – 1 / 34.8
Shots Against/Game: LAK – 2 / 26.2; SJS – 6 / 27.8
Faceoffs: LAK – t-2 / 52.8%; SJS – t-2 / 52.8%
Save Percentage: LAK – 2 / .922; SJS – t-7 / .915
Corsi-For Percentage: LAK – 1 / 56.9%; SJS – 5 / 53.4%

Los Angeles Projected Lines

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

Brayden McNabb – Drew Doughty
Robyn Regehr – Slava Voynov
Alec Martinez – Matt Greene

Jonathan Quick
Martin Jones

Level of confidence in projected lines: B. Jonathan Quick left the ice first at the morning skate, which isn’t a surprise at all. He’ll start. Decisions will have to be made about Jake Muzzin, who was deemed “questionable” with an undisclosed ailment by Hockey Operations this morning. If he is unable to go, Brayden McNabb is likely to skate alongside Drew Doughty. Given that Muzzin participated in the morning skate and took rotations with Robyn Regehr and Slava Voynov, the issue likely isn’t serious. All players left the ice at relatively the same time, so it wasn’t completely clear who tonight’s forward scratches will be.

Notes and milestones: Los Angeles is 57-55-7-12 all-time against San Jose, a record that includes a home mark of 36-22-4-3. This is the first meeting between the two teams; they will also meet at Staples Center on December 27 and April 11, at SAP Center on January 21, and at Levi’s Stadium on February 21. … The Kings have not lost a regulation regular season game at home against the Sharks since January 1, 2011 (8-0-1). … Home teams are 24-4-1 in the last 29 regular season and playoff games between Los Angeles and San Jose. … Anze Kopitar (29-41=70) has led the Kings in scoring for seven straight seasons. The only player to lead the club in scoring for seven straight seasons was Marcel Dionne (eight seasons; 1975-83). … Los Angeles was 5-0-2 in the preseason … Tyler Toffoli (4-5=9) led all players in preseason scoring. … Tanner Pearson (1-7=8) tied for second in preseason scoring and assists. … Jonathan Quick was 1-0-1 / 1.66 GAA / .947 Sv% in the preseason. … With 162 career assists, Drew Doughty is one assist behind Marty McSorley for fifth place amongst defensemen and 22nd overall amongst all skaters in club history. … With 31 career shutouts, Jonathan Quick is one shutout behind Rogie Vachon for first place overall in club history. … With 197 points as a King (75-122=197), Jarret Stoll is three points shy of 200 with the club. … With 98 wins with Los Angeles, Darryl Sutter is two wins from 100 wins with the club. The fastest coach to 100 wins with the organization was Terry Murray, who accomplished the feat in 197 games. Sutter will coach his 180th game tonight. … The Kings have sold out 90 consecutive regular season games and 119 consecutive games overall, dating back to December 3, 2011. … Los Angeles is 20-17-9 all-time in season openers and 23-15-8 all-time in home openers. Last year, they defeated Minnesota 3-2 in a shootout at the Xcel Energy Center to open the 2013-14 season.

San Jose Projected Lines

Joe Pavelski – Joe Thornton – Tomas Hertl
Patrick Marleau – Logan Couture – Matt Nieto
Tye McGinn – Chris Tierney – Tommy Wingels
Andrew Desjardins – Adam Burish – Mike Brown

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Mirco Mueller – Brent Burns
Scott Hannan – Jason Demers

Antti Niemi
Alex Stalock

Notes and milestones: Lines via David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News. … Joe Thornton has 61 points (13-48=61) and 66 penalty minutes in 65 games against the Kings. … Since 2006-07, the Sharks have gone 6-1-1 in season openers, a mark that includes a 2-1-1 road record. Todd McLellan is 5-1-0 in season openers. … At 19 years old, Mirco Mueller becomes the second teenager in as many seasons (Tomas Hertl) to start the season on San Jose’s roster. … Four Sharks were born after the club’s first game in franchise history (Tomas Hertl, Matt Nieto, Chris Tierney, Mueller). … With 1,194 career points (342-852=1194), Joe Thornton ranks 46th on the NHL’s all-time points list. … San Jose has clinched a playoff berth 10 seasons in a row, the third longest active playoff streak in professional sports (NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB): Detroit Red Wings (23 seasons), San Antonio Spurs (17 seasons), San Jose Sharks (10 seasons).