Kings at Panthers
The Florida Panthers came up with a strong effort in what coach Joel Quenneville called “the biggest game of the season” last time out and look to record a third straight victory when the Los Angeles Kings visit Thursday night. The Panthers scored five goals in the first 22:25 and cruised to an 8-4 rout of Toronto on Sunday for their second straight win and sixth in nine outings.
“I see more balance in our game, more compete,” Quenneville said of his team’s recent success that has moved it three points behind third-place Toronto in the Atlantic Division with two games in hand. “. … We seem to consistently roll four lines. … Everybody’s contributing and there’s a lot of enthusiasm on the bench as well as on the ice.” Sergei Bobrovsky (16-12-4) could miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury for Florida, which swept both games from Los Angeles last season, so Chris Driedger is likely to get the start in goal Thursday. The Kings recorded one victory in their last six contests (1-4-1), but have been unlucky to come away with one point in the past two games after losing 2-0 despite taking 41 shots at Carolina on Saturday and suffering a 4-3 shootout defeat at Tampa Bay on Tuesday when they allowed the tying goal with 1:15 left in regulation. “There were a lot of ups and downs,” Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan told reporters. “. … Disappointed at the end that we couldn’t close it out, but fairly good effort.”
TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: FS West, FS Florida
ABOUT THE KINGS (18-25-5): Veteran center Jeff Carter snapped a seven-game point drought with a goal and an assist in Tuesday’s loss while linemate Kyle Clifford matched him to post his first multi-point performance since Oct. 5. Captain Anze Kopitar was stopped on a breakaway Tuesday and was kept off the scoresheet in the last two games despite recording seven shots on net combined, but leads the team in goals (16) and points (40). Jonathan Quick (11-17-3, .896 save percentage) turned aside 35 shots Tuesday while backup Jack Campbell (7-8-2, .904) has been sharp this month, registering a .938 save percentage in three games.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (24-16-5): Left wing Jonathan Huberdeau recorded a goal an assist in the win over Toronto to take over the all-time franchise lead in points (420), passing Olli Jokinen (419), and leads the team with 61 in 2019-20. Left wing Mike Hoffman has played a key role of late while scoring in four consecutive games, registering five of his 18 goals during the stretch, and posted at least a point in six consecutive contests. “As the season goes, it kind of happens for players,” Hoffman told reporters. “When it’s going the right way, you just try and do the same things and opportunities come and (you) try to capitalize on those chances that you get.”
OVERTIME
1. Florida RW Evgenii Dadonov leads the team with 19 goals - five of them coming in six January contests.
2. Los Angeles D Drew Doughty, who played his 900th NHL game Friday, has not made the scoresheet in six straight outings.
3. Driedger (5-2-0, .931 SP) made 43 saves against Toronto and G Samuel Montembeault was recalled Wednesday on an emergency basis.