Pluses, minuses for Blues-Kings

NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will offer his pluses and minuses for big games each week throughout the season.

The Los Angeles Kings seek their third straight win when they host the St. Louis Blues at Staples Center on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; TNT, TVAS2, NHL LIVE).
The Kings (3-5-1), who are on a five-game homestand, won back-to-back games this past weekend, defeating the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 and Buffalo Sabres 3-2; the Blues (6-1-0) begin a four-game road trip.
Here's my breakdown of the game.

Blues

Pluses: The Blues rank first in the NHL in goals per game (4.14) and fourth in goals against per game (2.14). The power play ranks second in the League (35 percent) and has scored seven times on 20 chances. The penalty kill has been equally as strong, ranking tied for second with the Edmonton Oilers (91.3 percent) allowing two goals on 23 chances.
Jordan Binnington looks like a Vezina Trophy candidate (5-1-0, 2.52 goals-against average, .926 save percentage), and backup Ville Husso made 34 saves in a 3-0 shutout against the Kings in his only start Oct. 25. Forwards David Perron, Vladimir Tarasenko and Jordan Kyrou are tied for the team lead with nine points each.
Minuses: They're playing very well right now and the only negative is that center Ryan O'Reilly, perhaps the most important player on the team, will miss his third straight game while in NHL COVID-19 protocol. O'Reilly does it all, offensively and defensively and in the face-off circle. Forward Kyle Clifford was placed in protocol Tuesday and could also be unavailable.

Kings

Pluses: After a six-game losing streak, they played much better in their wins against the Canadiens and Sabres. Anze Kopitar is tied for fifth in the NHL with 13 points (seven goals, six assists) and center Phillip Danault has been a huge addition, behind Kopitar. He is among the NHL leaders with a 57.4 face-off winning percentage.
Young players are continuing to play meaningful minutes. That includes forwards Rasmus Kupari, Arthur Kaliyev and
Vladimir Tkachev
. And don't forget, centers
Alex Turcotte
(with Ontario of the American Hockey League) and
Quinton Byfield
(injured) also should make an impact with the big club at some point.
Minuses: Drew Doughty was having a great season before he was injured. The defenseman will be out about eight weeks with a knee injury. The Kings also will be without Sean Walker, who is out for season because of an ACL and MCL tear. It will be tough without two of their top defensemen, so someone will have to step up.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

1. How physical will this game be?
   2. Can Blues continue power-play success?
   3. Anze Kopitar and his 200-foot game