Kings at Senators
Martin Jones has not been perfect in his brief NHL career, but he's been close enough and is a big reason why the surging Los Angeles Kings carry a five-game winning streak into Saturday's game against the host Ottawa Senators. Jones has won his first four starts - two by shutout - and is coming off a 38-save performance in a 3-1 victory at Toronto on Wednesday. "I try not to think about that too much," Jones said. "It's not like I'm getting called upon to steal games here."
Ottawa's Craig Anderson has struggled to regain his form from last season, when he led the league in save percentage (.941) and goals-against average (1.69). He took a big step in that direction by matching his season high with 40 saves in Thursday's 2-1 win over Buffalo, giving him back-to-back victories for the first time since Oct 17 and Oct. 23. "Our goaltender obviously made a conscious decision that he was going to be competitive and gave us a chance to win," Senators coach Paul MacLean said.
TV: 2 p.m. ET, NHLN, FSN West (Los Angeles), RSN East, TVA (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE KINGS (21-7-4): Los Angeles, which is making the third stop on a four-game road trip, is 12-1-4 in its last 17 games - the majority coming since starting netminder Jonathan Quick was injured. Ben Scrivens went 6-1-3 after Quick was hurt before Jones continued the sensational play in net for the Kings, who haven't allowed more than two goals in 17 straight games. "Defense is always first on our minds," defenseman Drew Doughty said. "We're the hardest-working team defensively, and that's why we don't give up much."
ABOUT THE SENATORS (13-14-6): Defenseman Cody Ceci, a first-round draft pick in 2012 and an Ottawa native, acquitted himself well in his NHL debut, registering a plus-2 rating and seeing more than 20 minutes of ice time against the Sabres. The 6-3, 209-pound Ceci, who will turn 20 on Dec. 21, was pleased that MacLean had the confidence to put him on the ice to kill a penalty in the final two minutes of the contest. "That meant a lot for them to do that, to put the game in my hands, I guess, and to have me out there," Ceci said.
OVERTIME
1. Los Angeles has not allowed a first-period goal during its scintillating 17-game stretch.
2. Senators D Jared Cowen will serve the second contest of his two-game suspension for his hit to the head of Buffalo's Zemgus Girgensons on Tuesday.
3. Kings C Colin Fraser will sit out the game after taking a hard hit in Thursday's contest.