Ducks at Kings
The Anaheim Ducks welcome Rickard Rakell back to the lineup as they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday and hope the forward adds a spark to their inconsistent offense. Rakell signed a six-year contract extension Oct. 14 worth $3.8 million per year and was seen practicing with the second power-play unit Monday as Anaheim tries to bounce back from a stunning 4-0 loss to Columbus on Friday at home.
“I want to be as close to 100 percent as possible before I step into a physical game,” the 23-year-old Swede, who enjoyed a breakout season in 2015-16 with 20 goals, told reporters last week. Rakell is also fully recovered from surgery last month to repair scar tissue - a procedure that forced him to miss the World Cup of Hockey and was related to an appendectomy that kept him out of the lineup for the final seven regular-season games last spring. Los Angeles is struggling to score as they return home after back-to-back shutout losses in St. Louis and Chicago over the weekend. The Kings continue life without Jonathan Quick as third-string goaltender Peter Budaj is expected to make his seventh straight start although No. 2 Jeff Zatkoff - like Quick out with a groin injury - is close to returning.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket, FSN West
ABOUT THE DUCKS (3-4-2): Corey Perry is off to a quick start with four goals as is Andrew Cogliano, who also has four after scoring nine last season, 15 the year before and a career-high 21 in 2013-14. Ryan Getzlaf recorded seven assists in eight games - he missed Wednesday's 6-1 victory over Nashville with an arm injury - and is second on the club in shots with 24 to Perry's 34. Defenseman Shea Theodore also appeared on the second power-play unit at Monday's practice, a sign that he will be officially recalled from San Diego of the AHL prior to the game.
ABOUT THE KINGS (4-5-0): Budaj won his first four starts before the power went out of Los Angeles' offense, which boasts one player with more than two goals (Tanner Pearson four). Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli have two apiece as That 70s Line accounts for eight of the 12 goals scored by Kings' forwards with the defensemen recording seven. The ailments are not limited to the goaltending position as defenseman Brayden McNabb was placed on injured reserve Sunday with his arm in a sling after leaving Saturday's game while forward Andy Andreoff departed Sunday's contest with an upper-body injury.
OVERTIME
1. Los Angeles scores the second-fewest goals in the NHL at 2.1 per game while Anaheim is 25th at 2.3.
2. Kings coach Darryl Sutter's 599 career victories are 14th all-time and fifth among active coaches behind Chicago's Joel Quenneville (806), St. Louis' Ken Hitchcock (762), Dallas' Lindy Ruff (705) and Washington's Barry Trotz (663).
3. The Ducks are 11-2-2 during the last three regular seasons versus the Kings, including 3-2-0 in 2015-16 with two of the victories coming in Los Angeles.