Kings at Devils
The Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Kings hope to have their top netminder in the lineup Sunday afternoon as they continue their season-high seven-game road trip against the New Jersey Devils. Los Angeles is 2-1-0 on the trek but has played the last two contests without Jonathan Quick, who has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury since posting the victory in the trip-opening 9-2 triumph at Boston on Tuesday.
Quick could return to action after practicing Saturday without any issues, but the Kings definitely will be without Marian Gaborik, who was placed on injured reserve after suffering a lower-body injury in Friday's overtime win against the New York Rangers. New Jersey, which is even in points with Pittsburgh but trails the Penguins for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, is kicking off a three-game homestand after improving to 7-1 in overtime this season with a victory at Philadelphia on Saturday. Adam Henrique scored his team-leading fifth game-winner, giving him three goals and two assists during his season high-tying four-game point streak. Los Angeles and New Jersey split their two-game series last season, with each team winning on the road.
TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), MSG Plus (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE KINGS (33-18-3): Gaborik's streak of 99 consecutive games will come to an end as he returned to Los Angeles for further evaluation after being involved in a knee-on-knee collision with New York's Dominic Moore. The 33-year-old Slovakian scored his 12th goal of the season before exiting, giving him four tallies over his last seven contests. If Quick is unable to play, the crease will belong to either Jhonas Enroth or Peter Budaj, who made his first NHL start since April 9, 2014 on Friday.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (28-21-7): All-Star Cory Schneider has allowed fewer than three goals in 32 of his last 40 starts, posting a 1.91 goals-against average and .934 save percentage during that span. Lee Stempniak leads New Jersey with 40 points but has gone five games without a goal after scoring five in his previous five contests. The Devils have performed well on special teams of late, going 11-for-25 on the power play over their last nine games and 22-for-23 on the penalty kill over the last six.
OVERTIME
1. Devils LW Stefan Matteau could miss his second straight contest because of the facial fracture he sustained when hit by a deflected shot in Friday's practice.
2. Los Angeles C Anze Kopitar, who leads the team with 50 points, is coming off his third career hat trick - which ended his nine-game goal-scoring drought.
3. New Jersey has been held to fewer than three goals in six of its last seven games.