Kings at Flames
THE STORY: Michael Cammalleri is ready for his second tour of duty with the Calgary Flames - but he's not the only one making a return to Cow Town. Darryl Sutter will lead the Los Angeles Kings into Calgary on Saturday in a bid to end the Flames' eight-game home winning streak. Sutter, who spent eight years in Calgary as a coach and then general manager, insists he has nothing but love for his time with the Flames. "There’s nothing bad about it, nothing bad to think about,” the current Kings coach said. “It was awesome. It was a good experience because we had a good team. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters. That’s how everybody measures, in wins and losses." Speaking of wins and losses, Los Angeles dropped to 3-1-2 in its last six games with a 5-4 shootout setback to the Pacific Division rival Dallas Stars on Thursday. For its part, Darryl’s brother Brent's club recorded its third win in a row after outlasting the Anaheim Ducks in a 1-0 overtime triumph on Thursday. Prior to that contest, Cammalleri was traded from the Montreal Canadiens for Rene Bourque.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CBC, FSW
ABOUT THE KINGS (21-15-8): Jonathan Quick became Los Angeles' first goaltender to be selected to the All-Star Game in 31 years (Mario Lessard) - and for good reason. The 25-year-old Connecticut native has an NHL-best six shutouts and is among the leaders in save percentage (.932) and goals-against average (1.98). Taking into effect that the Kings are the lowest-scoring team in the league, Quick's inclusion in the showcase game is a no-brainer. C Anze Kopitar suffered an upper-body injury during the third period after being checked head-first into the boards by Dallas captain Brenden Morrow. Kopitar is expected to play on Saturday.
ABOUT THE FLAMES (21-19-5): Blair Jones did his best to introduce himself to Calgary's faithful. Playing in his third game with the club since being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning, Jones scored 1:51 into overtime on Thursday. G Miikka Kiprusoff, who secured his third shutout of the season and 43rd career, has enjoyed considerable success versus the Kings. The 35-year-old Finn is 17-7-3 in his career with a slim 2.10 goals-against average against Los Angeles.
OVERTIME:
1. Kings D Slava Voynov returned to the lineup after a four-game absence with an undisclosed injury. D Alec Martinez, did not record a point in his place.
2. With the acquisition of Cammalleri, Flames general manager Jay Feaster reiterated that captain Jarome Iginla is not going to be traded away from Calgary. "Iggy is going nowhere," Feaster told TSN. "And we are going for it."
PREDICTION: Flames 4, Kings 1.