Flyers at Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are starting to flex the defensive muscles that landed them two Stanley Cups in three seasons and go for their third straight shutout when they host the reeling Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon. The Kings picked up a rare road victory behind backup Martin Jones' 26-save effort at Arizona on Thursday - their third shutout in four games. "A little bit of luck and a lot of work," coach Darryl Sutter said. "Shutouts are not that big of a deal."
A victory of any kind would be a big deal for the Flyers, who continue to find maddening ways to lose in a winless drought that has reached six games (0-4-2). After falling at San Jose on Tuesday on a goal with 11.5 seconds in regulation, Philadelphia's Wayne Simmonds scored with 1.8 seconds to play to force overtime Wednesday in Anaheim, only to see the Ducks prevail in a shootout. "Moments like these, we've got to stick together as a team and find the positive things," Flyers forward R.J. Umberger said.
TV: 4 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN West (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (8-13-4): Philadelphia has dropped 10 of 11 overall (1-8-2) and nine straight on the road (0-7-2) dating to a win at Pittsburgh on Oct. 22. A loss Saturday would match the Flyers' longest skid since an 0-8-2 drought in February 2008, but general manager Ron Hextall is standing behind coach Craig Berube, who replaced Peter Laviolette three games into last season. “When you have a team going like we are, it’s all of us,” Hextall told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "We all have a piece of the pie here and we all have to do a better job.”
ABOUT THE KINGS (14-7-5): While the goaltending has been spectacular for Los Angeles, the offense has quietly cranked up the production with at last three goals in nine of the past 12 games. Captain Dustin Brown provided the spark in the 4-0 victory at Arizona, scoring twice and setting up another tally to give the Kings nine players with double-digit points. "You look early on in the year, we had only one line scoring and no one else." Brown said. "I think over the last however many games there has been more scoring from different players."
OVERTIME
1. The away team has won six of the past seven meetings, including Philadelphia's last three visits to Los Angeles.
2. Quick is 10-1-1 in his last 12 home starts for Los Angeles, which last posted three straight shutouts in October 2008.
3. Philadelphia has lost nine straight shootouts dating to last season.