The Kings had their own bad 3rd period. Against Ottawa they scored 4 times in the 2nd to go up 5-1, then gave up 4 straight goals before winning 6-5 in overtime. That was their first game back from a 5-game road trip. ABC7's preview had LA at 3-6-2 going into that game, with 28 goals for and 37 against, and without a win in 3 home games. Getting 2 points was a relief. Blowing a 4-goal lead at home to a team with goalie problems was not.
Injuries are the big story for LA. As of the Ottawa preview, Kevin Fiala (leg), Mats Zuccarello (upper body), Jakub Dvorak (upper body), Jan Jenik and Alex Turcotte were out, and Drew Doughty and Corey Perry were day-to-day. Losing Fiala and Zuccarello takes 2 top-6 scorers out of the lineup. Doughty's status matters most on defense. If he can't go, the same blue line that just gave up 4 in a period has to deal with Thompson.
Buffalo is short down the middle. Jiri Kulich is in concussion protocol and Konsta Helenius is listed out, which leaves the Sabres thin at center and puts more of the load on Thompson's line. Justin Danforth went on IR with an upper-body injury, too. Both teams played Thursday night, so neither side has a rest advantage going into the 1:00 PM PT start.
This is the first meeting of the season. Both teams have had trouble protecting leads, and both are missing a lot of players. Buffalo has the hotter top line. LA has home ice and badly needs a cleaner 60 minutes. Neither defense has played well enough lately to make a low-scoring game the safe expectation.