Ninth through sixth are separated by two points. In the sixth spot it is Vancouver, in the ninth spot Los Angeles.
However, that could change today. With a victory the Kings could jump from ninth and seventh place and put pressure on fifth place Minnesota and their opponent today in sixth.
The Canucks have been a mixed bag lately, especially on the defensive side of things. They are 5-4-1 in their last ten and have conceded four or more goals in five of those games. One of those four goal games was against the LA Kings back on March 12th in Vancouver.
On the flip side, although Vancouver has given up a questionable 3.5 goals against per game over the last 10, they have also scored at a rate of 2.8 per game. They have been one of the higher scoring teams this season but lately haven't received the defense or goaltending they need to capitalize. The Canucks have given up almost 30 shots a night on average over the last 10 games, and Lack has just a .912 save percentage behind that.
(Lines as of 3/19/15, courtesy of Left Wing Lock)
One player in particular to keep an eye on is the 19-year old rookie, Bo Horvat.
The former first round selection has been on an absolute tear since late January, scoring 14 of his 22 points since January 30. Despite a cold spell in the early stages of the month, he seems to be back on track with three goals and four points in his last six. He seen his ice time increase steadily this year, and Willie Desjardins has definitely started to trust the young center more. What has helped is that his Danish linemate Jannik Hansen has also started to come around. He has 12 points in his last 17 games.
With offense coming from all four lines lately, the question isn't going to be about Vancouver potentially scoring but rather can they keep the puck out of the net? Although the last time the two teams met it was the first time the Canucks had been shutout since January 27th against the Ducks.
For the Kings it is going to be a different look defensively. Alec Martinez is going to be slotting back into the lineup, and it remains to be seen who he will come in for You can vote on the poll from yesterday's blog on who you feel should be sat in favor of Martinez.
The Kings have looked more themselves lately, playing solid defense and chipping in offensively from various areas. Nonetheless they have still been prone to momentary lapses that have cost them dearly. All it took was a rough ten minutes against Anaheim, and a brief minute and a half against Nashville to lose 3rd period leads. They also looked fairly stifled offensively against Arizona. The last three games have not been particularly strong.
One thing that has been strong though is Jonathan Quick. As timely as ever, Quick has a .929 adjusted save percentage over his last ten games. He also has recorded three shutouts over his last 11 games. However, unlike Vancouver, the Kings have supported Quick incredibly well. They have kept the average shots down to just around 22 a game. The 29-year old has been very good at making the simple saves, logging an exceptional .990 save percentage on low-danger saves. Put simply, he is making the saves he should make.
Here is how the Kings lined up to start last game, but keep in mind Martinez will slot in somewhere and Darryl Sutter certainly loves to rotate forwards. How they start is almost never how they finish.
Should be a great afternoon game with plenty of intensity. Enjoy folks!