About the Kings - 11-05-11
A preview of the Kings.
When and where: 10:30 p.m. EDT; Staples Center.
TV: Root Sports, Fox Sports West.
Record: 6-4-2, 14 points. The Kings are in seventh place in the Western Conference and third place in the Pacific Division.
Leading Scorer: Anze Kopitar, 14 points (six goals, eight assists).
Last Game: 3-0 home loss to the Kings, Thursday. Jonathan Quick (right) made 24 saves for the Kings.
Last Game against the Penguins: 2-1 overtime road loss, Feb. 10. Jordan Staal scored in overtime for the Penguins.
Kings Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Simon Gagne. The former Lightning forward had seven points in seven games in the playoffs against the Penguins last spring.
Ex-Penguins on the Kings: Rob Scuderi, D; Luc Robitaille, president - business operations.
Ex-Kings on the Penguins: Dan Bylsma, head coach; Tony Granato, assistant coach; Ray Shero, general manager (Shero was a draft pick of the Kings but never played for the franchise); Kevin Stevens, professional scout.
Useless Kings Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Granato is the Kings' second all-time leading playoff scorer among left wingers with 37 points. Robitaille is first with 89 points.
Best Kings Video We Could Find: A staple for any Kings preview we do. The Kings' legendary "Triple Crown" line of Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor singing "Forgive My Misconduct:"
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (7-2-1, 1.96 GAA, .932 SV%) for the Penguins and Jonathan Quick (6-2-2, 1.66 GAA, .941 SV%) for the Kings.
Injuries: For the Penguins, defensemen Kris Letang (undisclosed), Matt Niskanen (undisclosed) and center Jordan Staal ("lower-body") are questionable. Centers Sidney Crosby (concussion), Tyler Kennedy (concussion), defensemen Ben Lovejoy (left wrist), Zbynek Michalek (finger) and Brian Strait (elbow) are on injured reserve. For the Kings, center Colin Fraser (ankle) is on injured reserve.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: With the recent run of injuries, the Penguins lines and defensive pairing are never a sure thing. Here's an educated guess:
Steve Sullivan - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Chris Kunitz - Richard Park - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Mark Letestu - Arron Asham
Dustin Jeffrey - Joe Vitale - Craig Adams
Paul Martin - Kris Letang
Brooks Orpik - Deryk Engelland
Matt Niskanen - Alexandre Picard
-The Kings' primary lines and defensive pairings yesterday were:
Simon Gagne - Anze Kopitar - Justin Williams
Scott Parse - Mike Richards - Dustin Brown
Dustin Penner - Jarret Stoll - Brad Richardson
Kyle Clifford - Trevor Lewis - Ethan Moreau
Rob Scuderi - Jack Johnson
Willie Mitchell - Drew Doughty
Alex Martinez - Matt Greene
Notes:
-Welcome Alexandre Picard to the lineup.
-Ditto Robert Bortuzzo. (PG+)
-Cooke has 99 career points with the Penguins.
-Kunitz has 297 career points.
-Park has 97 career goals.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 10:30 p.m. Please drink some coffee and tune in.
(Photo: Harry How/Getty Images)