Hurricanes at Kings
The Los Angeles Kings have finally ignited their dormant power play and victories have followed suit. Los Angeles will vie for its third win in a row when it concludes its four-game homestand against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. The Kings have collected five goals with the man-advantage in the last two contests after mustering just one in their previous nine contests and only six in the first 17 games of the season.
Mike Richards scored on the power play on Nov. 2, but Elias Lindholm netted the eventual game-winning tally with 3:59 remaining in Carolina's 3-2 home victory over Los Angeles. The 19-year-old Swede has cooled off a bit since scoring six goals and setting up two others in a seven-game stretch, but notched an assist in the Hurricanes' 6-4 triumph over Dallas on Tuesday. The win in the opener of a five-game road trip was a welcome one for Carolina, which is just 2-6-2 away from home and heads to the Staples Center where the Kings boast a 9-2-1 mark.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Carolina, Fox Sports West (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (6-9-3): Eric Staal hasn't missed a beat in his return from a five-game absence due to an upper-body injury. The captain scored twice versus the Stars and has recorded five goals and six assists in 13 contests. Jiri Tlusty also tallied during Carolina's four-goal second period and has scored twice in his last three games after being held off the scoresheet in each of the previous six contests.
ABOUT THE KINGS (10-5-4): Los Angeles received unexpected offensive production from defensemen Matt Greene and Robyn Regehr in its 5-2 victory over Florida on Tuesday. Greene opened the scoring with his first goal since Oct. 19, 2013, and Regehr provided insurance with his first tally since Feb. 26. "It's good to see Robyn and Greene score," coach Darryl Sutter said. "They don’t get much credit, and they can give you the blue collar every night. They are our two most consistent defensemen for sure. It’s always good to see them score."
OVERTIME
1. Stanley Cup hero Alec Martinez could return to the lineup for Los Angeles after missing two games following finger surgery.
2. Hurricanes G Cam Ward made 30 saves on Nov. 2 to improve to 3-0-2 in his career versus the Kings.
3. Los Angeles captain Dustin Brown is one point shy of 200 for his career.