GAME DAY: Jimmy Schuldt set to make NHL debut for Golden Knights

LOS ANGELES — The Golden Knights close out the regular season Saturday when they meet the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center.

Opening faceoff is 7:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.

“We’ll go play a good game; hopefully everybody stays healthy,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “We’ll just put some different players in there (Saturday) and see where we go.”

The Knights (43-31-7, 93 points) have lost six of their past seven and are coming off a 4-1 loss to Arizona on Thursday that left a rotten taste in several players’ mouths.

Gallant confirmed defenseman Jimmy Schuldt will make his NHL debut. The 23-year-old signed as a free agent out of St. Cloud State and is a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, which goes to the top player in college hockey.

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will start his second consecutive game as he tunes up for the opening-round series against San Jose.

The Knights had minimal participation at their morning skate and are expected to have multiple lineup changes.

Los Angeles (30-42-9, 69 points) is playing the second game of a back-to-back after a 5-2 loss at Anaheim on Friday.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick is expected to start, and it could be the 33-year-old’s final game with the Kings.

Quick, who has won two Stanley Cups, is 15-23-7 with a 3.41 goals-against average and .887 save percentage but will be an attractive trade option for several teams this offseason with the Kings continuing to rebuild.

The Kings, who are 5-4-1 in their past 10 games, are last in the Western Conference. A loss would give them the second-best odds (13.5 percent) of landing the No. 1 overall pick in Tuesday’s NHL draft lottery.

Los Angeles also would finish with the second-best odds if New Jersey wins at Florida on Saturday.

Forward Blake Lizotte, a former teammate of Schuldt’s at St. Cloud State, could make his NHL debut for the Kings.

This is the fifth meeting between the teams, with the Knights going 2-1-1 while winning the past two matchups by a combined score of 6-1.

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Jonathan Marchessault-William Karlsson-Reilly Smith

Max Pacioretty-Paul Stastny-Mark Stone

Brandon Pirri-Cody Eakin-Ryan Carpenter

Valentin Zykov-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Ryan Reaves

Defensemen

Jimmy Schuldt-Deryk Engelland

Brayden McNabb-Shea Theodore