Avalanche vs. Kings, Game 63: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

Don’t expect the Colorado Avalanche to change a whole lot after Tuesday’s win.

Coming off arguably their most dominant performance of the season, the Avalanche will face a much more difficult opponent in the Los Angeles Kings. The last time the Kings were in town, the Avalanche blew a third period lead, eventually losing in a shootout. They’ll need a much more complete effort tonight.

The one change to the lineup will be due to injury. Kurtis MacDermid, who fell into the boards in the third period, will not play. After morning skate, head coach Jared Bednar declared him to be day-to-day with a lower body injury. Brad Hunt will step into the lineup in his place.

After facing only 13 shots on Tuesday night, Alexandar Georgiev will be back in net for the Avalanche.

Team defense will be important for the Avalanche, because the Kings can score goals. They’re currently on a four game winning streak, and have scored 17 goals across those four victories. They’re currently eight in the league in goals scored.

At the moment, the Kings are tied with Vegas for not only the top spot in the Pacific Division, but also the entire Western Conference. They’re led offensively by Kevin Fiala, who they acquired from Minnesota over the summer. He sits with 67 points in 65 games.

The two teams will meet one more time this season, when the Avalanche visit Los Angeles in April.

Expected Colorado Avalanche Lines

Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Valeri Nichushkin

Evan Rodrigues – J.T. Compher – Mikko Rantanen

Andrew Cogliano – Lars Eller – Logan O’Connor

Matt Nieto – Alex Newhook – Denis Malgin

Defense

Devon Toews – Cale Makar

Samuel Girard – Bowen Byram

Jack Johnson – Brad Hunt

Goalies

Alexandar Georgiev

Jonas Johansson

Expected Los Angeles Kings Lines, per lahockeynow.com

Quinton Byfield-Anze Kopitar-Adrian Kempe

Kevin Fiala-Phil Danault-Viktor Arvidsson

Alex Iafallo-Blake Lizotte-Gabe Vilardi

Carl Grundstrom-Rasmus Kupari-Zack MacEwen

Defense:

Mikey Anderson-Drew Doughty

Vladislav Gavrikov-Matt Roy

Alex Edler-Sean Durzi

Goalies:

Pheonix Copley

Joonas Korpisalo

Special Teams

Colorado Avalanche Power Play: 22.8%, 9th in NHL

Colorado Avalanche Penalty Kill: 78.8%, 18th in NHL

Los Angeles Kings Power Play: 24.7%, 5th in NHL

Los Angeles Kings Penalty Kill: 76%, 23rd in NHL

How to Watch

TV: ESPN+, Altitude TV

Radio: 92.5 Altitude Sports Radio

Game Time: 7:00 PM MST