Kings at Capitals
Anze Kopitar effectively has flipped the script with 12 goals in just 25 games this season after requiring 75 contests to reach that total in 2016-17. The team leader in goals, assists (16) and points (28), Kopitar looks to continue his surge on Thursday as the Los Angeles Kings play the second contest of their four-game trek against the Washington Capitals.
"I'm feeling good this year, and maybe that's the whole difference. I'm confident about my game in a way that I wasn't last season, said Kopitar, who admitted he was drained from competing in the Olympic qualifiers (for Slovenia) and the World Cup (for Team Europe) before the 2016-17 season even began. The 30-year-old Kopitar collected two goals and an assist on Tuesday as Los Angeles opened a four-game trek with a 4-1 victory at Detroit. While the Kings are aiming for their first three-game winning streak since Oct. 28, the Capitals are riding their second such streak this month with resounding victories over Eastern Conference foes Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Toronto. Captain Alex Ovechkin earned NHL Third Star of the Week honors after scoring a goal in all three contests to raise his league-leading total to 18, highlighted by his third hat trick of the season and 20th career in a 4-2 win over Maple Leafs on Saturday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), NBCSN Washington
ABOUT THE KINGS (14-8-3): Jonathan Quick has rebounded from a disastrous six-start losing skid, answering his .899 save percentage in that span by turning aside 48 of 50 shots in the last two contests. The 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy recipient and two-time Stanley Cup winner has flustered Washington in his career with wins in seven of nine starts while posting a .915 save percentage. Former captain Dustin Brown has scored in back-to-back games to give him 10 goals in 25 games this season, putting him on pace to obliterate his previous totals in the last three campaigns (11, 11, 14).
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (14-10-1): T.J. Oshie set up three goals at Toronto on Saturday and has five assists in his last three games as the United States Olympic hero is off to his best start to a season in his career. The 30-year-old scored a goal in both games versus Los Angeles last season after recording five assists in his previous five career meetings. Fellow forward Nicklas Backstrom has set up four goals during his three-game point streak, with his 16 assists this season trailing only Evgeny Kuznetsov for the team lead.
OVERTIME
1. Washington's Braden Holtby will get the nod at home, where he ranks first in save percentage (.927) and third in goals-against average (2.13) among NHL goaltenders with at least 100 such starts since 2010-11.
2. Los Angeles D Drew Doughty has set up four goals during his three-game assist streak and has seven points (one goal, six assists) in his past seven contests.
3. Kuznetsov (team-leading 26 points) has been held off the scoresheet in three of his last four games.