Los Angeles Kings: 20-29-2, 42 points
Philadelphia Flyers: 27-16-5, 59 points
Jason Labarbera v. Martin Biron
The Kings and Flyers will kick off their second half schedule tonight in this 7 PM meeting at the Wachovia Center. This game is in the midst of a six game home stand for the Flyers and will kick off an 8 game road trip for the Kings. It's important for both teams to start off the second half with a win to get momentum. The Flyers were red hot to close out the first half, and they want to try and keep that up and gain some ground on the Atlantic. The Kings are in the cellar right now, and a few road wins can help them gain confidence and turn the season around.
After allowing 3 goals on 24 shots against Pittsburgh, Martin Biron will make his second straight start. It wasn't a great game at all, but after Niittymaki's showing against New Jersey, it's good that Biron's getting a chance to show what he can do again. These two goalies are close. John Stevens needs to continue to play the hot hand.
Do not sleep on the Kings. They may have the worst record in the league, but one of their strengths is their power play: ranked 5th in the league. As the Flyers have shown as of late, the penalty kill is a weakness. They need to stay focused, stay out of the box and don't let the Kings' PP hurt you.
The Flyers are 6-1-1 against the Kings in their last 8 meetings. They haven't traveled to Philadelphia since 2003, thanks to the unbalanced schedule Gary Bettman introduced. The last time these two teams met, the Flyers won 4-3 in Los Angeles in 2006.
Bill Meltzer has tonight's scratches:
Lasse Kukkonen
Jesse Boulerice
Joffrey Lupul
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Georges Laraque will not be suspended for his hit on Steve Downie on Thursday. On the play, he received a five minute major and a game misconduct. Downie returned to play in the third period.
I really have to question what the NHL is doing. They want to send a message about hits from behind. This was a hit from behind. Where's the suspension?
If you're going to suspend Randy Jones, you have to suspend Georges Laraque. If you're going to suspend Scott Hartnell, you have to suspend Georges Laraque. If you're going to suspend Ilya Kovalchuk, you have to suspend Georges Laraque. Colin Campbell, can we please get some consistency here? I subscribe to the opinion that Jones' hit wasn't too bad, and if they absolutely had to suspend him, 2 games was okay. Laraque's hit was of the same nature, even though it might've been closer to Hartnell's. Downie's head got slammed into the boards. It was a hit from behind, he charged him, he boarded him, he elbowed him, how much more did he have to do?
One of the NHL's criteria for awarding suspensions is past incidents. I don't know if Laraque has been suspended before, and a quick search yielded no results, but he definitely has a reputation of being a tough guy and a big fighter. Downie's suspension might've been as big as it was because Campbell held some things he did in juniors against them. I don't know if this was the case, but if pre-NHL incidents count in this system, why doesn't being a hard hitting, aggressive checker?
Was it because Downie came back to play in the 3rd period? It always appears that the NHL adjusts suspensions based on injury received. If that is truly the case, it's unfortunate. A hit from behind is a hit from behind. Whether you're Steve Downie who can come back and play or Patrice Bergeron who will likely miss the rest of the season, it's the same thing. It was an illegal hit. Laraque should've been suspended for 1 or 2 games.
Is there an anti-Flyers bias in the league offices? Does Colin Campbell not like Steve Downie? I can't answer these questions. However, their record on suspensions this year may give you the answer you're looking for.
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