Kings at Islanders
The Los Angeles Kings got off to a bumpy start in the opener of a four-game road trip, not only falling to league-worst Buffalo but absorbing a potential major setback when goaltender Jonathan Quick suffered a lower-body injury in the contest. Quick is flying back to Los Angeles to be evaluated and will be unavailable when the Kings visit the New York Islanders on Thursday. "He's been our best player for years now," Kings captain Dustin Brown said. "You can't replace him."
The Islanders received a strong performance from backup netminder Kevin Poulin in halting a four-game skid with a 3-1 home victory over Nashville on Tuesday. It was only the fourth victory in 10 home games for New York, which came after the team was outscored 16-6 during its four-game road trip. "It was important that we came home and played a strong game like this," Islanders captain John Tavares said. "Hopefully we can build on it."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), MSG Plus (New York)
ABOUT THE KINGS (11-6-1): Quick, the 2012 Conn Smythe winner, was hurt with 1:20 left in overtime, creating a difficult situation for backup Ben Scrivens, who didn't face a shot in OT before surrendering goals on two of three attempts in the shootout. It marked the fifth appearance of the season and first since Oct. 29 for Scrivens, who split a pair of starts including a shutout at Florida on Oct. 13. "We have all the confidence in Benny," Brown said of Scrivens. "He can step in and he's a capable goalie. The way we play - Ben's a competitive guy."
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (7-9-3): Left wing Thomas Vanek, who has been sidelined the past two games with an upper-body injury, skated but did not participate in Wednesday's practice. Tavares also sat out the practice session with a hip issue sustained in the win over Nashville, and coach Jack Capuano said he'll know more about the duo following Thursday morning's skate. Tavares ended a 15-game drought without a power-play tally against the Predators and has a goal and four assists during a three-game point streak.
OVERTIME
1. Kings coach Darryl Sutter said RW Jeff Carter - who is not on the trip - suffered a broken foot in a 4-3 win over San Jose on Oct. 30. He will be examined at the end of the week.
2. Poulin has surrendered one goal in three of his last four starts while Evgeni Nabokov has yielded 29 in his last seven games.
3. The Kings will call up G Martin Jones from the American Hockey League to back up Scrivens, who is 12-15-3 in his three seasons.