Kings at Oilers
The Los Angeles Kings have rebounded well from a troubling 0-3-0 start, led by strong goaltending and a boost of offense from 23-year-old forward Tyler Toffoli. The Kings go after their fifth straight victory and Toffoli looks to extend his goal-scoring streak to the same amount of games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.
Toffoli has netted five goals in his last four contests while Jonathan Quick has given up two tallies in his past three starts, a stretch that includes a 3-0 victory over Carolina on Friday. The Oilers also have turned around their fortunes after losing the first four games of the season, winning three of their last four contests, and 2015 first overall pick Connor McDavid has collected four goals and three assists in his last four games. Edmonton won three in a row before suffering a 7-4 home defeat against Washington on Friday with a performance coach Todd McLellan called sloppy in a lot of areas. “We overwhelmed ourselves with stupidity in some situations,” he told reporters. “Too much easy play all over the rink.”
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), RSN, RSN360 (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE KINGS (4-3-0): Jeff Carter, who has equaled Toffoli (six goals) for the team lead with six points, scored four times against the Oilers in 2014-15. Anze Kopitar recorded a team-high eight points in five games versus Edmonton last season and has netted two goals during the Kings’ winning streak after going scoreless in the first three contests. Los Angeles is without top-four defenseman Matt Greene (upper body), who was placed on injured reserve Friday after already having missed four games.
ABOUT THE OILERS (3-5-0): Another former first overall pick, Nail Yakupov continues to prosper from playing with McDavid as he has totaled six points in the last four games and seven overall. Taylor Hall (five points) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (four) – also first overall selections – are major threats, but Edmonton must improve its goals-against if it hopes to be in the playoff hunt this season. The Oilers gave up four goals during their three-game winning streak before struggling Friday and must get sharper play from defenseman Justin Schultz (minus-5 rating).
OVERTIME
1. The Kings scored a total of 23 goals while earning points in four of their five meetings (3-1-1) with the Oilers last season.
2. Edmonton G Cam Talbot came on in relief against Washington and allowed one goal after winning his previous two starts.
3. Los Angeles LW Milan Lucic has recorded four points and a plus-3 rating in his last four games.