KINGS (29-19-10) at CANUCKS (38-16-7)

10 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNP, BSW

Feb 29th, 2024....This is the first meeting between the Canucks and Kings. What the fuck was the schedule maker thinking? Of course there has been some benefit to having to wait so long to face L.A.. Back in November, the Kings looked very good and seemed to be in the running to win the division. Right now, the Kings have won 29 games and lost 29 games (They thank Bettman for the 10 loser points) and are actually only 5 points ahead of Calgary for 4th place in the division.

I am not happy with the last game's outcome as Van always seems to find a way to let Pitt back into the game. 2-0 lead that disappears when they stop doing the little things. They need take these last 20 games and lockdown the areas that they keep screwing up on. Tonight they get to look at their potential first round opponent and see which weaknesses the Kings will find.

Kings projected lineup

Alex Turcotte -- Anze Kopitar -- Quinton Byfield

Trevor Moore -- Phillip Danault -- Kevin Fiala

Jaret Anderson-Dolan -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Alex Laferriere

Arthur Kaliyev -- Blake Lizotte -- Trevor Lewis

Jacob Moverare -- Drew Doughty

Vladislav Gavrikov -- Matt Roy

Andreas Englund -- Jordan Spence

Cam Talbot

David Rittich

Scratched: Brandt Clarke

Injured: Adrian Kempe (wrist), Mikey Anderson (upper body), Viktor Arvidsson (lower body), Carl Grundstrom (lower body)

Canucks projected lineup

Pius Suter -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Nils Hoglander -- Elias Pettersson -- Ilya Mikheyev

Arshdeep Bains -- Elias Lindholm -- Conor Garland

Phillip Di Giuseppe -- Teddy Blueger -- Sam Lafferty

Quinn Hughes -- Noah Juulsen

Nikita Zadorov -- Filip Hronek

Ian Cole -- Tyler Myers

Thatcher Demko

Casey DeSmith

Scratched: Mark Friedman, Nils Aman

Injured: Dakota Joshua (upper body), Carson Soucy (hand)

Status report

Kempe, a forward who normally plays on the top line, flew back to Los Angeles to be evaluated after he was injured late in a 4-2 loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, and his status won’t be updated until the Kings return after finishing their three-game road trip Thursday. ... Turcotte stays in Kempe’s spot on the No. 1 line. ... Talbot will start consecutive games after Rittich played the previous three. … Demko starts for a fifth straight game for the first time this season. … Juulsen will play with Hughes on the top defense pair and Hronek moves to the second pair with Zadorov. ~ NHL.com

Game Day Battle Hymn

I am sticking with the drum theme as it did get us a point last game. Geddy better get us the 2nd point.

Go Canucks Go!