Flyers at Kings
After completing a perfect four-game road trip, the Los Angeles Kings look to keep the Philadelphia Flyers winless on their three-game trek in Saturday's tilt at the Staples Center. Jonathan Quick keyed the Kings' four-game winning streak by stopping 116-of-122 shots as the team extended its lead in the Pacific Division to 11 points over second-place Arizona.
"I think we got stronger as it went along, the trip and the games," Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter told the team's website. Quick likely will be in net again on Saturday versus Philadelphia, against which he made 36 saves and denied all attempts in the shootout to preserve a 3-2 triumph on Nov. 17. While the Kings recorded strong finishes to extend their winning streak, the Flyers have yielded a total of five goals in the third period in the last two games en route to 4-2 losses to both Anaheim (Sunday) and San Jose (Wednesday). "We've got to salvage two points here because we've lost two in a row on this road trip in games where points have been available going into the third period," coach Dave Hakstol told the team's website. "We have to do a better job. It's a critical game for us."
TV: 4 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN West (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (15-14-7): The penalty kill is presenting plenty of problems for Philadelphia, which has permitted five power-play goals in nine opportunities in the first two contests of their road trip. "We're going through a tough stretch," center Sean Couturier told Philly.com. "We have to do video and do better." Jakub Voracek saw his six-game point streak come to a halt versus the Sharks, but notched a pair of assists in the first encounter with the Kings.
ABOUT THE KINGS (24-11-2): Milan Lucic scored one goal and prevented another with a "save" in Los Angeles' 4-1 win over Calgary on Thursday, and his tally with 56 seconds remaining in regulation led to Philadelphia's undoing in the first meeting. Tyler Toffoli set up a goal versus the Flames to extend his point streak to five games, during which he has collected six tallies and two assists. Former Flyer Jeff Carter, who celebrated his 31st birthday on Friday, is expected to miss his fourth straight game with an upper-body injury.
OVERTIME
1. Los Angeles will play nine of its next 14 contests at home.
2. Flyers captain Claude Giroux, who had a goal and an assist in the first meeting with the Kings, scored on Wednesday to snap a five-game point streak.
3. The road team has won eight of the last nine in the series.