Kings at Oilers
The Los Angeles Kings are on the outside of the playoff picture but remain in control of their postseason destiny with a favorable matchup looming at the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday - an opponent they mauled last week. The Kings suffered a 2-1 shootout loss at Vancouver on Monday, leaving them tied on points with Calgary for third place in the Pacific Division and one back of Winnipeg for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
Los Angeles has dominated the series against the Oilers, improving to 9-0-1 in the last 10 with an 8-2 drubbing on Thursday. The Kings can lock down third place in the Pacific by winning their final three, including a showdown at Calgary on Thursday night. The Oilers closed out March with three impressive victories, dealing severe blows to the postseason hopes of Colorado and Dallas, but they have been brought back to earth by their Pacific rivals. Edmonton has dropped three in a row by a combined 17-3 margin and is coming off a 4-0 home loss to Calgary on Saturday.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), RSN (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE KINGS (39-25-15): Los Angeles will hope for an offensive encore against the Oilers after losing three straight games away from home and scoring one goal in each of those defeats. Marian Gaborik and Jeff Carter scored two goals apiece in Thursday's rout of Edmonton, a game in which the Kings quickly seized control by jumping to a 3-0 lead in the first 9:13. Goaltender Jonathan Quick, who has made 18 consecutive starts since March 1, has posted a 14-1-5 record with a 1.56 goals-against average in 20 career starts against the Oilers.
ABOUT THE OILERS (23-43-13): Captain Andrew Ference (concussion) and fellow defenseman Nikita Nikitin (undisclosed) remain sidelined but the injury-ravaged blue-line corps received a boost when Mark Fayne was back at practice Monday. It remains unclear if Fayne, who has missed the past five games with a shoulder injury, will be able to return to the lineup, although interim coach Todd Nelson said "he's really close." Leading goal scorer Ryan Nugent-Hopkins missed Saturday's game and could be done for the season after he was spotted with his right foot in a walking boot.
OVERTIME
1. Carter has 13 goals in 16 games against Edmonton.
2. Oilers G Richard Bachman is 2-0-0 with a 0.70 goals-against average in three appearances versus Los Angeles.
3. The Kings are 1-for-12 on the power play over the last seven games.