Tonight the Kings are at the Pond in the final installment of this year's “Freeway Faceoff.… It is a huge game for the Kings as they struggle to make the playoffs and defend their championship. They are currently tied with Calgary for the final Wild Card sport in the west, but hold the tie breaker due to a game in hand. If L.A. Loses, they will be on the outside looking in due to fewer Regulation/Overtime wins. Just in case you were wondering, the kings are three points behind the Pacific Division's third place team, Vancouver, and do not control the tie-breaker there either.
Needless to say the Kings are close to desperation mode. Which brings us to Sami Vatanen. The skillful Finn says he is ready to return from the leg injury that has kept him out of the lineup for over a month. Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau isn't as sure. The coach would be right in holding Vatanen out of tonight's lineup. It isn't a good idea to return a finesse player to the lineup against a bitter rival. Add to the mix that said rival is in a mad dash to make the post-season and its prudent to hold Vatanen out until Friday's game.
Breaking it down further, this game is not a must win for the Ducks. Why risk Vatanen against a team that would under normal circumstances wouldn't hesitate to play him physically. Vatanen has been watching his team play well as of late, and with two new defensemen probably sees his roster spot in a bit of peril. This is where tact from the coaching staff comes in. A statement like “Sami, we appreciate you wanting to get back in the lineup, but it might be a good idea to give it another few days,… goes long way.
Boudreau goes with the hot hand in goal tonight. John Gibson has won his past two starts, allowing only three goals in 50 shots. Gibson also beat the Kings in their last meeting on February 20. Starting Gibson isn't a knock on Frederik Andersen. Chalk Gibson's third straight stat to him being “in the zone.… Up front Pat Maroon rebounded from his first healthy scratch of the season to play like a man on a mission Sunday against Nashville. He finished the game on the top line and will probably start there tonight. Tomas Fleischmann sat Sunday, but he should be back. Jiri Sekac and Emerson Etem both played about 11 minutes in the game, so its likely one of them will watch tonight from the press box. Here is tonight's expected lineup:
Forwards Maroon-Getzlaf-Perry Fleischmann-Kesler-Palmieri Cogliano-Thompson-Sifverberg Beleskey-Rakell-Sekac/Etem
Defensemen Fowler-Despres Beauchemin-Lindholm Stoner-Wiz
Goalies Gibson Andersen