Devils at Kings
The New Jersey Devils will be without a pair of veterans as they open a three-game road trip against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. Jaromir Jagr and Tuomo Ruutu each missed practice for the third consecutive day on Tuesday due to the flu and did not travel to Los Angeles, the team announced. The 42-year-old Jagr leads the club with 25 points in 43 games while Ruutu has chipped in with eight in the same span for New Jersey, which also could be without the tandem when it visits Anaheim on Friday and San Jose three days later.
The Devils certainly could use all hands on deck after falling for the second time in a row and 12th in 16 games (4-8-4) with a 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Friday. Los Angeles hasn't been playing much better, although it stopped a three-game skid and improved to 1-1-2 on its seven-game homestand with a 2-0 victory over Toronto on Monday. All-Star Anze Kopitar scored 37 seconds into the contest and set up Marian Gaborik's empty-net goal late in the third period to run his assist streak to four games.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New Jersey), FSN West (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (15-21-8): Patrik Elias doesn't plan to let his hyperextended elbow keep him out of the lineup, telling the Bergen (N.J.) Record that "it's sore, but not as bad as I thought it would be." Elias has scored two goals and set up three others during his last four games and sits one tally short of 400 for his career. Cory Schneider will get the nod on Wednesday and has stopped 101-of-105 shots en route to posting a 3-1-0 mark with one shutout in his career versus Los Angeles.
ABOUT THE KINGS (20-13-10): Kopitar and Gaborik have been on torrid 12-game stretches, as the former has recorded 21 points (four goals, 17 assists) in that span while the latter has registered 15 (10, five). Gaborik has recorded three goals and an assist in his last four games and netted 10 tallies and set up 12 others in 28 career meetings with New Jersey. Jonathan Quick, who won the 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy following the Kings' Stanley Cup victory over the Devils, owns a 3-1-1 regular-season record versus New Jersey with a slim 1.97 goals-against average.
OVERTIME
1. Jagr scored in overtime as New Jersey posted a 2-1 road triumph over Los Angeles in their last meeting on Nov. 21, 2013.
2. The Kings are just 2-for-15 on the power play in their last four games.
3. New Jersey recalled LW Joe Whitney from Albany on Tuesday and assigned D Seth Helgeson to the American Hockey League club.