2:30PM Henrik Lundqvist will make his first start since 12/2 as the Rangers are in LA to face the Kings.
Lundqvist was scheduled to start last Friday against Montreal but was held out due to a back issue. (NYR)
The Rangers are scheduled to go with the same lines and lineup that defeated Vegas 5-0 on Sunday:
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- Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Kaapo Kakko
- Chris Kreider, Filip Chytil, Ryan Strome
- Brendan Lemieux, Brett Howden, Pavel Buchnevich
- Brendan Smith, Greg McKegg, Jesper Fast
The Kings, last in the Western Conference at 11-18-2, are 9-6-1 at home this season and 3-6-1 in their past 10 games.
Despite their record:
- The Kings lead the NHL in fewest shots against per game at 27.7 (the Rangers are 2nd worst, allowing 36 per game) but rank 26th in goals allowed per game at 3.29 (the Rangers are 21st at 3.10)
- They are second in shots on goal per game at 34.4 (the Rangers are 29th at 28.8) but 28th in goals scored at 77 (the Rangers are 14th at 93) and 30th in goals per game at 2.48 (the Rangers are 9th at 3.21)
LA is 29th in the league on the PP and on the PK, the Rangers are 12th and 22nd respectively.
Adam Rotter: This is a game that the Rangers can’t overlook. The Kings are at the bottom of the standings but they seem to have the puck a lot and put a lot of shots on net. The Kigns don’t score a lot and their special teams are at the bottom but the Rangers need to not only win these kinds of games but do so in a fashion where they are structured and play their game.