It is do or die time for the Los Angeles Kings, who are pro sports’ ultimate procrastinators. The Kings are at the Calgary Flames in a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive. We will load our lineup with four Kings on Thursday and go with the most resilient and proven champion in the NHL. We believe that Los Angeles will again turn on the switch in what will be an electric atmosphere at the Saddledome.
LW – Blake Wheeler – Winnipeg
The Jets are at the Colorado Avalanche with faceoff time set for 9 p.m. ET. They simply refuse to go away despite the loss of team captain and defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and have won seven out of their last ten with three in a row. Colorado is one of the worst teams defensive teams in the NHL ranking 23rd for goals against. Wheeler has two goals and an assist with a plus-two in his last five games to go with 26 goals and 35 assists with a plus-26 on the season.
C – Jeff Carter – Los Angeles
The Kings are at the Calgary Flames at 9 p.m. ET. Few players have a nose for the net like Carter and he should get his share of looks against a Calgary team that ranks 14th for goals against and 22nd for penalty killing. Carter has 28 goals and 33 assists on the season with a plus six and has two goals, three assists and a plus-one in his last five games.
RW – Brad Boyes – Florida
The Panthers host the Boston Bruins at 7:30 PM ET and will be playing loose as a team that has been eliminated from the playoffs. Hockey can be a funny game this time of year with teams that are eliminated from the playoffs taking out other teams that are fighting for playoff position.
Boston is tied for the final playoff spot with the Ottawa Senators with one game in hand with no margin for error. The Panthers were chasing the Bruins for most of the season before being eliminated this week, and could be a dangerous bunch for this one. Boyes has 13 goals and 23 assists on the season with a plus-10, but has slumped as of late with just one goal and a plus one in his last five games. We call for the Cats to be a spoiler in this one and for Boyes to make the score sheet against a Bruins team coming off a game at Washington the night before.
D – Drew Doughty – Los Angeles
Doughty has picked up his game for the playoff push with two goals, two assists and a plus-two in his last five games to go with seven goals, 38 assists and a plus-four on the season. Doughty is a key component on the Kings and a proven leader that has the knack of rising to the occasion in pressure packed situations.
D – Anton Stralman – Tampa Bay
The Lightning host the New Jersey Devils at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Devils are a horrible offensive team that ranks 28th in the NHL for goal scoring. Tampa Bay, conversely, is the top goal scoring team in the NHL. Stralman has nine goals and 30 assists with a plus-23 on the season as Tampa Bay’s top defenseman. Stralman has one goal with two assists and a plus-one in his last five games.
G – Jonathan Quick – Los Angeles
Quick is certainly in the conversation for the label of hockey’s top money goaltender. Quick did not play in Tuesday’s 2-4 disaster of a loss at Edmonton and should be fresh for this one. Quick has a solid .921 save percentage in his last five games with just 10 goals against. On the season, Quick has a .917 save percentage and a 2.26 goals against average with six shutouts.
Sleeper – Jaret Stoll – Los Angeles
The Kings faceoff ace and checking forward has six goals and 10 assists and a plus-two on the season with just one assist and a minus-two in his last five games but is another well-renowned clutch player that is at his best under pressure. It would not surprise us at all to see Stoll emerge as a hero against the Flames with the season on the line.
