Kings at Canucks
The Los Angeles Kings haven't received a great deal of good news this season, however coach Willie Desjardins provided a ray of sunshine for his struggling club by revealing that injured goaltender Jonathan Quick could return at some point during the team's three-game road trip. The NHL-worst Kings (17 points) bid to ride that momentum into Vancouver on Tuesday as they attempt to exact a bit of revenge against the Canucks.
Rookie Elias Pettersson scored his club-best 13th goal midway into the third period as Vancouver snapped an eight-game skid with a 4-2 win over Los Angeles on Saturday. The 20-year-old Swede also had an assist to move within one point of fellow center Bo Horvat (22) for the team lead. Matt Luff scored in that contest and became the fifth different Kings rookie to record a goal-scoring streak of at least four games after adding an empty netter in Sunday's 5-2 triumph over Edmonton. Dustin Brown registered his fifth career hat trick and captain Anze Kopitar notched his first three-point performance of the season by scoring his team-leading seventh goal and adding two assists as Los Angeles posted just its third win in nine outings Sunday.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE KINGS (8-14-1): Quick, who holds the majority of the franchise's goaltending records during his 12 seasons with Los Angeles, has been sidelined since undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee on Oct. 30. Cal Petersen has held the fort by splitting his six decisions (3-3-0) while posting a strong .921 save percentage to go along with a 2.69 goals-against average. The 24-year-old yielded three goals on 28 shots versus Vancouver on Saturday before turning aside 32 shots against the Oilers.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (11-13-2): Brock Boeser could be in line to end an 11-game absence due to an adductor strain after participating in practice on Monday at Rogers Arena. "He's a big part of our offense, we've missed him and hopefully we get him back sooner rather than later. It could be (Tuesday), it could be Thursday," coach Travis Green told reporters of the 21-year-old, who has collected 71 points (37 goals, 34 assists) in 84 career games. Vancouver's offense has taken a hit without Boeser, as it has mustered more than three goals on just two occasions since he's been sidelined.
OVERTIME
1. Horvat has registered just five of his team-best 22 points at home this season.
2. Los Angeles D Drew Doughty has one goal and three assists in his last four games to pull even with LW Ilya Kovalchuk for the team lead in points (14).
3. Vancouver re-assigned F Darren Archibald to Utica of the American Hockey League after mustering two points (one goal, one assist) in nine games with the NHL club.