Kings Vs Avalanche Game 3 Preview: Kings Looking To Win 1st Game At Home

The Kings are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss that saw them go down 2-0 in the series. The Kings and Avalanche did not score until the 13th minute of the 3rd period, where Artemi Panarin scored his 2nd playoff goal. But the Avalanche tied it minutes after and won in overtime to get their 2nd win. The Kings have limited the Avalanche to just 2 goals per game, but they need to start scoring at 5-on-5, as their only 2 goals have come from Panarin and on the power play.  

Projected Kings Lines

Here are the projected lines for the Kings in Game 3: 

Artemi Panarin - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe

Trevor Moore - Quinton Byfield - Alex Laferriere

Joel Armia - Scott Laughton - Andrei Kuzmenko

Jeff Malott - Samuel Helenius - Jared Wright

Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty

Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke

Brian Dumoulin - Cody Ceci

Anton Forsberg

Darcy Kuemper

Projected Avalanche Lines

Here are the projected lines for the Avalanche in Game 3: 

Artturi Lehkonen - Nathan MacKinnon - Martin Necas

Parker Kelly - Brock Nelson - Valeri Nichushkin

Gabriel Landeskog - Nazem Kadri - Nicolas Roy

Joel Kiviranta - Jack Drury - Logan O'Connor

Devon Toews - Cale Makar

Brett Kulak - Sam Malinski

Josh Manson - Brent Burns

Scott Wedgewood

Mackenzie Blackwood

Injuries and Line Changes 

The Avalanche are expected to have the same lineup in the first 2 games. Kings forward Andrei Kuzmenko could play for the first time since February 25 after he has missed the last 25 games after getting surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Jared Wright has been moved to the 4th line. 

Key Factors

A major factor for both teams in this series has been the goaltending. Both Forsberg and Wedgewood have played very well for their teams, with Forsberg posting a .941 SV% and a 1.90 goals-against average. Wedgewood has posted a .960 SV% and a 0.94 goals against average. Both teams are getting strong goaltending. 

For the Kings, goaltending and defence have seemingly not been the problem; rather, it is the offence that has been the problem in this series. Only 1 player has scored for the Kings, and both of those goals were on the power play.

The Kings have not scored at even strength throughout this series, and if they want to change the series' outlook, they will need to do so. Panarin leading the team with 2 points is something the Kings seriously need to change, and they need to be better offensively, or they will not be in the playoffs for much longer. 

Game 3 is in Los Angeles and starts at 10:00 P.M Eastern time.