Game Preview | 5 things to know ahead of Sabres at Kings

LOS ANGELES - Don Granato mixed up the Sabres' forward lines for an intense, up-tempo practice inside Crypto.com Arena on Sunday. The new-look trios will stick for the opener of a three-game California road trip tonight against the Los Angeles Kings.
"I felt we've got to get out of our own heads, and as I said yesterday, we're not going to get back to where we need to be strategizing," Granato said. "It's got to be compete and work first as a primary. This is something that can stimulate that.
"The guys were excited for it yesterday, they were excited to skate today, and it's going to take a team effort."
Coverage on MSG begins at 10 p.m. The puck drops at 10:30 on MSG and WGR 550.
Here are five things to know.

Tweet from @BuffaloSabres: ���It was important to compete harder, to push harder.��� pic.twitter.com/RADHsApyxv
### 1. The lineup
The changes at forward include Dylan Cozens shifting between Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch with Tage Thompson centering Casey Mittelstadt and Kyle Okposo.
Rasmus Asplund will enter the lineup at forward in place of JJ Peterka. Kale Clague will enter on defense for Jacob Bryson.
Here's the full projected lineup based on the morning skate:
| February 13 vs. Los Angeles | | --- | | LW | C | RW | | 37 Casey Mittelstadt | 72 Tage Thompson | 21 Kyle Okposo | | 53 Jeff Skinner | 24 Dylan Cozens | 89 Alex Tuch | | 74 Rasmus Asplund | 17 Tyson Jost | 71 Victor Olofsson | | 28 Zemgus Girgensons | 19 Peyton Krebs | 22 Jack Quinn | | LD | RD | G | | 23 Mattias Samuelsson | 26 Rasmus Dahlin | 41 Craig Anderson | | 25 Owen Power | 10 Henri Jokiharju | | | 38 Kale Clague | 46 Ilya Lyubushkin | | | | | |
### 2. Hollywood Andy
Craig Anderson is expected to start in goal for the Sabres. He has won five of his past six starts against the Kings while posting a .950 save percentage, including a 40-save shutout in December.
### 3. Clague's return
Clague was a second-round draft pick by the Kings in 2016 and spent four seasons with the organization prior to being selected off waivers by the Canadiens in December of last season. Tonight will mark his first game in Los Angeles as a visitor.
Clague has carved out a role with the Sabres after signing a one-year contract during the summer and beginning the season with the Amerks. He's averaging 16:09 of ice time in 21 games.
"I'm excited that he's going in," Granato said. "He's worked hard, he keeps himself ready to go and he's played well. It's always fun to play your old team, especially the one that drafted you."

4. Getting a breather
Granato described today as an opportunity for Peterka, who has missed only two games to this point in his rookie season. Fellow forwards Jack Quinn and Peyton Krebs have both sat for stretches this season and had success coming out of those breaks.
"JJ's a young player and there's a lot of growth and growth potential," Granato said. "We know that. Going in and out is part of that growth. It's part of spurring you to get to the next one, to the next plateau or off of the plateau you're on."
Peterka was still skating hard as Granato spoke to the media this morning.
"We feel he's gaining a base of what it's like to be in the NHL every day and learning to respond more and more competitively," Granato said. "This isn't going to hurt him. It's probably going to help quite a bit."
### 5. Scouting the Kings
The Sabres and Kings were deadlocked at 0-0 through two periods when the two teams met in Buffalo in December. Tage Thompson finally broke the game open with a 5-on-3 goal early in the third, then the floodgates opened in what ended as a 6-0 victory for the Sabres.
"It was 6-0, but it was much closer than that," Granato said. "… They play hard and well at home."
The Kings hold the top wild card in the Western Conference coming off their own 6-0 victory over the Penguins at home on Saturday. Adrian Kempe scored four straight goals in that game, upping his team-leading total to 26. Kevin Fiala has a team-high 55 points.
Pheonix Copley is expected to start in goal. He's 16-3-1 with a .901 save percentage.