Hurricanes at Kings
The Carolina Hurricanes begin the California portion of their five-game road trip on Saturday afternoon, when they visit the Los Angeles Kings. After extending their losing skid to three contests with setbacks against Buffalo and Dallas, Carolina plays three straight Golden State representatives during a four-day stretch. The Hurricanes' task certainly won't be easy as Jonathan Quick returned from the Winter Olympics to turn aside all 25 shots he faced in Los Angeles' 2-0 triumph over Calgary on Thursday.
Captain Dustin Brown, who joined Quick to represent the United States at the Sochi Games, collected a goal and an assist versus the Flames as the Kings won their third straight contest following a brutal 1-8-1 stretch. Quick also handcuffed the Hurricanes on Oct. 11, making 27 saves before stopping all three attempts in the shootout as Los Angeles posted a 2-1 shootout victory. The Kings have won four of the last five meetings between the teams.
TV: 4 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Carolina), FSN West (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (26-24-9): Alexander Semin was on quite the tear before suffering a lower-body injury in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Stars. The Russian Olympian, who sat out practice on Friday, scored nine goals and set up three others prior to the setback. Jeff Skinner has been held off the scoresheet in each of the last three games, but he has scored three times in as many career contests versus the Kings.
ABOUT THE KINGS (33-22-6): Jeff Carter continued to torment Carolina by netting the shootout winner against Cam Ward in October. The talented right wing has recorded 10 goals and nine assists in his last 14 contests versus the Hurricanes - and his next tally will be the 250th of his career. Dwight King scored in that contest and also tallied on Thursday for his first goal in 10 games.
OVERTIME
1. Los Angeles C Anze Kopitar was held off the scoresheet versus Calgary after recording three goals and four assists in his previous three games.
2. Carolina went 0-for-5 on the power play versus Dallas and has failed to score with the man advantage (0-for-22) in its last six road games.
3. The Kings' next shutout will be their 11th this season, matching the club record set in 2011-12.