The hurting Ottawa Senators will look to take advantage of a tired LA squad when they host the Kings tonight at Candian Tire Centre.
Already without Zack Smith, who could return later this week, and Mark Borowiecki, who is questionable for tonight, the Senators will also be without Bobby Ryan for the foreseeable future.
They have recalled Max McCormick from Belleville, but if Borowiecki can go it could be 7 defensemen and 11 forwards that Guy Boucher ices.
The Senators are coming in off of a decisive win against the Leafs on Saturday night, while the Kings come in having fallen to the Leafs last night for their first regulation loss of the season.
The Senators will want to get off to a fast start against a team that is on the second half of the back to back. That could mean seeing Darcy Kuemper in goal, who hasn't played since Oct. 15th unless you include the 36 seconds he had to go in for last night as Jonathan Quick was elbowed in the head and had to undergo a quick concussion protocol check.
Last night's loss aside, the Kings have had a bounceback start after missing the playoffs last season, led by the expected return to form of Anze Kopitar, who leads the team with 6 goals and 5 assists for 11 points. While Kopitar's play could have been predicted, perhaps the same can not be said for the resurgent Dustin Brown, who for the moment is playing with the form he did 5 years ago, and has 5 goals and 6 helpers to sit tied with Kopitar for the team lead in points after he had been all but written off and wouldn't be a King any more if there had been any takers for his services.
Brown had 14 goals all of last season, and is more than 1/3 of the way to passing that mark through just 8 games. Whether this is a blip or he can keep up the pace remains to be seen, but it is a good story in the early going of the season.
Obviously a big storyline every time these two clubs meet is the comparison between Drew Doughty and Erik Karlsson, after Karlsson had what many consider to have been a 3rd Norris Trophy robbed by what was perceived as a "lifetime achievement award" for Doughty a couple of seasons ago. Doughty currently has 7 points in 8 games, one point ahead of Karlsson who has played in just 3 so far, and has 6 assists in his last two outings.
Mike Condon will start for the Senators, a good move in my opinion to keep him alert and to give Craig Anderson some time off. Having a consistent 1-2 punch in goal is only good if you use them both, and Anderson doesn't need to play 60 or 65 games with a capable backup and he can be fresh when they need him the most.
The teams split the season series last year, with each team winning on home ice.