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Preview: Bruins kick off homestead against the LA Kings

By camkerry
NHL: Los Angeles Kings at Boston Bruins Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 7 PM

Where: TD Garden - Boston, MA

How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: Jewels from the Crown

Know your enemy

  • 14-18-3, 31 points, last in the Pacific Division, last in the Western Conference
  • Goals: Anze Kopitar, 13
  • Assists: Kopitar, 18
  • Points: Kopitar, 31
  • Goalie: Jonathan Quick, 9-12-2, 3.06 GAA, .891 save percentage

Game notes

  • The Kings! They’re not very good this year. They’re very similar to a team the Bruins played at home fairly recently in the Chicago Blackhawks: aging with some cap trouble, and having issues getting results. Much like the Blackhawks, the Kings had a ton of success a few years back, and are paying for it now.
  • The Kings still have some big names. Anze Kopitar is still very good, as he leads the Kings in just about every important statistical category. Jeff Carter (still around!) has 10 goals, and perennial trade target Tyler Toffoli has 9.
  • The Kings haven’t gotten the play they’ve needed from Drew Doughty, per our pals at Jewels From The Crown. Still, he’s an elite talent and can take over a game if you let him.
  • Speaking of not getting what you need, Jonathan Quick is uh...not great. That contract is looking more and more like a true albatross, and the Kings are in a tough spot as a result.
  • Los Angeles is similar to the Bruins in that they have a lot of high-end talent on their top lines, except that talent isn’t anywhere near as good as the Bruins, and their lower lines are even worse. Still, as we saw against Chicago, that talent can win a game if you’re not playing at your best.
  • For the Bruins, expect things to remain similar to how you saw them against Florida. Tuukka Rask will probably start, and Charlie Coyle will likely stay at wing. Anton Blidh and Karson Kuhlman reportedly skated at practice today, but aren’t quite there yet.
  • The official stance of this website is that the Bruins should take a chance on Ilya Kovalchuk, but individual opinions may vary. Discuss.

See ya tonight!