This will be the first matchup of the season between the Golden Knights and Kings and the first meeting since Vegas completed its sweep of Los Angeles in the first round of the playoffs back in April.
The Knights are coming of two straight thrilling victories against the Capitals and Blackhawks and will look to bring some of that success on the road in the first half of a back-to-back set this weekend.
Vegas will look to take advantage of a struggling Kings team that has gone 4-6-0 in its last 10 games and sits at the bottom of the Pacific Division standings with a 10-18-1 record on the year. Anze Kopitar leads the Kings in scoring with seven goals and 18 points in 28 games this season, but offense has been an issue for the Kings, who are averaging a league-low 2.10 goals per game.
Vegas (16-13-1) is currently in third place in the division and has gone 8-2-0 in its last 10 games. The Knights will look to extend their winning streak to three games with a win this afternoon.
It appears as though Reid Duke will serve as a healthy scratch for the second game in a row as Oscar Lindberg will retain his role on the third line after playing well in the Knights’ last two games.
Nikita Scherbak will make his Kings debut after being claimed off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens.
The Knights will be greeted with a familiar face as Brendan Leipsic was recently claimed off waivers by Los Angeles; he is set to skate on the second line with Jeff Carter and Matt Luff.
Here are the projected lineups for both teams:
Golden Knights
Marchessault — Karlsson — Smith
Pacioretty — Eakin — Tuch
Nosek — Carpenter — Lindberg
Carrier — Bellemare — Reaves
McNabb — Schmidt
Theodore — Engelland
Holden — Miller
Fleury
Subban
Kings
Iafallo (#19) — Kopitar (#11) — Brown (#23)
Leipsic (#14) — Carter (#77) — Luff (#64)
Scherbak (#21) — Kempe (#9) — Toffoli (#73)
Clifford (#13) — Thompson (#44) — Amadio (#10)
Forbort (#24) — Doughty (#8)
Muzzin (#6) — Martinez (#27)
Phaneuf (#3) — Fantenberg (#7)
Quick (#32)
Petersen (#40)
Let’s discuss!