The Kings look to get back to an even record tonight against the Minnesota Wild.
After three games into the season, the Kings find themselves at a 1-2 record, and tonight they face the Minnesota Wild, who are coming off a 7-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, where they registered 52 shots. The Kings, on the other hand, are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets after Jets forward Mark Scheifele scored twice to put the Jets over the Kings.
The projected lines for the Kings:
A. Kuzmenko – A. Kopitar – A. Kempe
K. Fiala – Q. Byfield – J. Armia
W. Foegele – P. Danault – T. Moore
J. Malott – A. Turcotte – A. Laferriere
B. Dumoulin – D. Doughty
J. Edmundson – B. Clarke
M. Anderson – C. Ceci
D. Kuemper
A. Forsberg
The projected lines for the Wild:
K. Kaprizov – M. Rossi – M. Boldy
M. Johansson – J. Eriksson Ek – V. Tarasenko
Y. Trenin – R. Hartman – M. Foligno
L. Ohgren – D. Yurov – V. Hinostroza
J. Brodin – B. Faber
Z. Buium – J. Spurgeon
J. Middleton – Z. Bogosian
J. Wallstedt
F. Gustavsson
The key factors for the game are to improve defensively, which in turn will enable the Kings to generate more offence. The Wild are a strong offensive team led by Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov, who, between the two of them, have 12 points. The Kings have been a decent team offensively, having 9 goals in 3 games. The Kings will need all of their depth forwards and defence to energize the team.
For the Kings, it’s going to be the first line of Kempe, Kopitar, and Kuzmenko, who are leading the team in points with 3. Another important player for the Kings is Darcy Kuemper, who is looking for his first win of the season. In his last two starts, he has allowed 7 goals, which does not accurately reflect his overall play but highlights that he and the Kings’ defence need to improve. The Kings’ defence must be stronger as well. For the Wild, it’s their elite offence of Kaprizov and Boldy alongside the strong defenseman Brock Faber, who is still looking for his first point.
Overall, if the Kings can be strong defensively, it can lead to offensive chances. That is the main key for the Kings to improve defensively, which not only helps Kuemper but also enables them to counterattack and catch the Wild off guard. Kings looking to get to 2-2 after tonight.
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