Flames at Kings
THE STORY: The Sutter Brothers will do battle for the second time in six days when Brent's Calgary Flames visit Darryl's Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. Darryl Sutter won family bragging rights Saturday when Los Angeles halted Calgary's eight-game home winning streak with a 4-1 victory. The Kings enter the showdown with an 8-1-5 record since Darryl was named coach and are coming off a 2-0-1 road trip that concluded with a 3-2 shootout win at Vancouver on Tuesday. Brent's Flames have dropped seven of 10 games overall and six straight on the road, including Tuesday's 2-1 shootout loss at San Jose.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Rogers Sportsnet West (Calgary), FSN West (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE FLAMES (21-20-6): Curtis Glencross is expected to miss the next two games after leaving Tuesday's loss with a knee injury. The left winger leads the Flames with 18 goals. Calgary got back a defenseman against the Sharks as Scott Hannan returned from a four-game absence due to an upper-body injury. Hannan logged over 20 minutes of ice time and recorded one shot on goal. Blue-liner Brett Carson returned to the club from a conditioning assignment with Abbotsford of the AHL but was not in the lineup Tuesday. The 26-year old has appeared in only two games with the Flames this season thanks to a pair of back injuries.
ABOUT THE KINGS (23-15-9): Jonathan Quick has been put to work by Sutter, starting 12 of the team's 14 games under the new coach. Quick has posted an 8-1-4 record over his last 13 starts, allowing more than two goals just twice in that span. Ethan Moreau's first season with the Kings has been one to forget. The veteran left winger recorded one goal and three assists in 28 games before being placed on waivers. Moreau was not claimed and was assigned to Manchester of the AHL in early December but has not played for the Monarchs as he is recovering from a suspected concussion.
OVERTIME:
1. Calgary has lost four consecutive meetings with Los Angeles and eight of nine games against Pacific Division opponents.
2. The Kings have not fared well against the Northwest Division of late, losing seven of the last 11 matchups.