Game Seventeen Preview: Kings at Flames

The division leading Los Angeles Kings (9-4-3) travel to Calgary to start a two-game road trip. Both teams have had mixed results in games inside their division. The Flames are 2-2-1 in games within the Pacific, while the Kings are 3-3-0.

The Kings rank 30th in the NHL in penalty minutes per game with 11.1. The good news for LA is that in the month of November (5 games), they’ve only played in one game where their opponent had more power play opportunities than they did. To compare, in October (11 games), the Kings played in only two games where they themselves had the powerplay advantage.

For the Flames, staying out of the box will also be a priority. In games where they’ve taken less penalties than their opponent, they boast a record of 4-0-2. Calgary’s penalty kill has struggled thus far, ranking 27th in the league at 72.3%. The number is likely compounded by the fact that the Flames are one of the worst teams in the NHL when it comes to faceoff percentage. Their team average of 45.2% is 31st in the NHL.

Goaltending Matchup

Darcy Kuemper (4-1-3, 2.72 GAA, .896 SV%) vs Dustin Wolf (4-2-1, 3.10 GAA, .906 SV%)

For Wolf, it’ll be his first NHL game against the Kings. The Gilroy, CA native spent most of his youth hockey career in Los Angeles, playing seven seasons with the LA Jr. Kings.

Lineup

This is how the Kings lined up in their morning skate, per Zach Dooley.

Lewis – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Fiala
Foegele – Byfield – Laferriere
Lee – Helenius – Thomas

Anderson – Gavrikov
Edmundson – Clarke
Englund – Spence

Kuemper

Puck drops at 5:30 PM PST at the Scotiabank Saddledome.