Penguins At Kings Preview: Rakell Takes Leave, Pens Support Fire Relief Efforts

Currently five points back of the second wild card spot, the Pittsburgh Penguins look to earn two points when they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.

Unfortunately, they will have to get it done without one of their best players.

Earlier, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said that forward Rickard Rakell returned to Pittsburgh for family reasons and will not play Monday against the Kings.

Rakell has a team-leading 23 goals, which is tied for ninth in the NHL overall. The Penguins will need to find a way to offset the loss of Rakell’s production both on the power play and during five-on-five, which will be a challenge.

This is how the lines looked at the morning skate without Rakell in the mix:

Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic – fresh off an historic performance on Friday against the Buffalo Sabres, when he became the only netminder in NHL history to record a goal and an assist in the same game – will get the nod for the Penguins against Los Angeles, who will be playing their first home game since the catastrophic wildfires started spreading a few weeks ago.

“I think there will be a lot of emotion in that building for obvious reasons,” Sullivan said. “And we’re going to have to be prepared for the drop of the puck, the start of the game, and making sure that we bring a certain level of controlled emotion and urgency to our game. Obviously, this will be an emotional event for all those reasons.”

Forward Blake Lizotte – who spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with the Kings – is returning to Los Angeles for the first time since his arrival in Pittsburgh. He said the fires serve as a stark reminder of the things that are truly important – the things that helped him make memories while playing in L.A.

“I think you realize that you can put hockey aside for a second, look around, and realize what this city’s gone through in the last two or three weeks or so,” Lizotte said. “It kind of gives you a perspective of what’s really important, and that’s your family, your health, and safety, so… definitely thankful to all the firefighters and first responders that have been grinding for the last few weeks to make sure people stay safe.”

In support, Penguins players wore Los Angeles Fire Department stickers on their helmets during the morning skate, and they will also be worn during Monday’s game. The team has also shared the Kings’ link for fire relief donations, which can be found here.

“People have been through a lot here, and anything we can do show our support… you know, it’s inspiring to us,” captain Sidney Crosby said. “I think it’s something that, any way we can show our support and help, we’ll try to do that.”

As far as the Kings on the ice, they are a very difficult opponent to beat at home. They are a league-best 14-2-1 in Los Angeles, and as Sullivan suggested, they will also be playing an emotionally charged game.

They are 25-13-5 overall and 6-4 in their last 10 games, sitting third in the Pacific Division behind the Vegas Golden Knights and the Edmonton Oilers. The Kings play a stingy defensive game and don’t give teams too many looks, so the Penguins will have to take advantage of their opportunities when they arise.

The Kings also deploy a different kind of lineup than most teams.

“They usually go with 11 forwards, so they’re kind of mixing lines up,” Lizotte said. “So, you kind of have to not worry about matchups as much. You just go out there and play. I think, with them, you just can’t turn pucks over because they’re going to force you to dump pucks, and we have to be willing to do that and forecheck.”

With another win against L.A. – Pittsburgh won an overtime thriller against them in one of their best efforts of the season on Dec. 17 – the Penguins can temporarily leapfrog the Detroit Red Wings in the standings and tie the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers for fifth in the wild card race, as all those teams are idle.