Kings at Panthers: How to Watch, Milestones, Betting Odds, Lines

FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers will celebrate some milestone nights on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Not only will Dmitry Kulikov play in his 1,000th NHL game, but Paul Maurice will coach in his 1,900th game.

Maurice is second on the all-time games coached list behind Scotty Bowman (2,141) with Buffalo’s Lindy Ruff at 1,824.

Kulikov becomes the 13th player to reach 1,000 games while playing for the Panthers — and is the second Florida draftee to do so in a game with the Panthers joining Radek Dvorak in 2009.

Ed Jovanovski came close, but played in his 1,000th game in his final season with the Coyotes before rejoining the Panthers as a free agent in 2011.

Kulikov is also the third Russian-born defenseman to hit the 1,000 game mark, and the ninth Russian player in history.

“Pretty special,” Kulikov said on Wednesday. “I am very fortunate to get a milestone like this with this group. They’ve given me the best memories of my career.”

NOTES: KINGS @ PANTHERS

• The Los Angeles Kings will get Drew Doughty back tonight after the defenseman has missed the entire season after getting hurt in a preseason game.
• Kevin Fiala missed morning skate with an illness and is a game-time decision.
• The Kings are 7-0-1 against the Panthers in the past eight games — but the Panthers beat Los Angeles on an overtime goal from Sam Reinhart the last time these two played in Sunrise.
• How to Watch: The Panthers are back on local TV tonight which means the game can be screened locally on Panthers+ and nationally on ESPN+. Saturday’s matinee against the Blackhawks will be on ABC.
• Starting Goalies: The Panthers go back with Sergei Bobrovsky after Spencer Knight lost 2-1 in Los Angeles last week. The Kings, who have lost two straight since beating the Panthers, go back with Darcy Kuemper.
• NHL Betting Odds: The Panthers are -150 favorites on the money line at the local book. To win with the Panthers, a $150 bet pays $100.

ON DECK: GAME No. 52

LOS ANGELES KINGS at FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Betting Odds — Panthers Favored: Money Line (-150); Puck line (-1.5, +160); Over/Under 5.5 (+105/-130)
• Last Season: Tied 1-1
  
• This Season (Kings Lead 1-0) — At Los Angeles: Kings 2, Panthers 1 (Jan. 22). At Florida: Wednesday.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Los Angeles leads 27-15-0, 3 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 1 p.m. (ABC)

PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (29-19-3) LINES

23 Carter Verhaeghe // 16 Sasha Barkov // 13 Sam Reinhart

19 Matthew Tkachuk // 9 Sam Bennett // 25 Mackie Samoskevich

27 Eetu Luostarinen // 15 Anton Lundell // 17 Evan Rodrigues

10 A.J. Greer // 94 Tomas Nosek // 70 Jesper Boqvist

42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad

77 Niko Mikkola // 7 Dmitry Kulikov

26 Uvis Balinskis // 88 Nate Schmidt

72 Sergei Bobrovsky

30 Spencer Knight

Scratched: Adam Boqvist

Injured: Jonah Gadjovich (upper body)

PROJECTED LOS ANGELES KINGS (26-15-6) LINES

15 Alex Turcotte // 11 Anze Kopitar // 9 Adrian Kempe

37 Warren Foegele // 55 Quinton Byfield // 12 Trevor Moore

22 Kevin Fiala // 24 Phillip Danault // 14 Alex Laferriere

— 10 Tanner Jeannot // 61 Trevor Lewis

44 Mikey Anderson // 84 Vladislav Gavrikov

6 Joel Edmundson // 21 Jordan Spence

43 Jacob Moverare // 8 Drew Doughty

— 92 Brandt Clarke

35 Darcy Kuemper

31 David Rittich

Scratched: Andreas Englund, Kyle Burroughs, Akil Thomas,

Injured: None

Los Angeles Kings Lines Courtesy NHL.com