Maple Leafs at Kings
Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter is banking that a familiar face has more in reserve in a bid to help ignite his sputtering team's offense. Veteran Jarome Iginla, who played under Sutter during Calgary's run to the Stanley Cup final in 2004, was acquired prior to the trade deadline and is expected to be in the lineup Thursday as the Kings host the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"L.A. was one I heard about first," the 39-year-old Iginla said on Wednesday after his former team, Colorado, let him go for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft. "And once I did, I was very excited about it and just to go with that. Their track record, their success as an organization and the guys they have there, I jumped at it." The Kings have dropped two straight to reside one point behind St. Louis for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference while the Maple Leafs have mustered four goals during its three-game skid to cling to a one-point edge for the final wild-card spot in the East. Toronto added experienced depth to its lineup prior to the trade deadline on Wednesday, acquiring forward Eric Fehr and defenseman Steven Oleksy from Pittsburgh for minor-leaguer Frank Corrado.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Ontario (Toronto), FSN West (Los Angeles), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (28-21-13): Rookie Auston Matthews continued his offensive assault by scoring his team-leading 31st goal as Toronto began its swing through the Golden State with a 3-1 setback to San Jose on Tuesday. The 19-year-old has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in his last eight games, a stark contrast to the plight of veteran James van Riemsdyk, who is mired in a 12-game goal drought. Frederik Andersen has dropped three straight decisions despite turning aside 96 of 102 shots and looks to overcome receiving the early hook in a 7-0 rout by Los Angeles, against which he owns a 5-1-1 career mark.
ABOUT THE KINGS (30-26-6): General manager Dean Lombardi told reporters that he thought Iginla would fit in well on a line with either captain Anze Kopitar (team-leading 30 assists) or Jeff Carter (club-best 30 goals, 56 points). Speaking of Carter, the 32-year-old has three goals and six assists in his last nine games overall and tallied twice in Los Angeles' shellacking of Toronto on Nov. 8. Fellow forward Dwight King won't have the chance to play with either Iginla or Carter anymore, as the 27-year-old on Wednesday was traded to Montreal for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft.
OVERTIME
1. Los Angeles G Jonathan Quick is expected to make his third start after a near 4 1/2-month absence due to a groin injury.
2. Toronto's top-ranked power play is just 3-for-15 in the last five games.
3. Despite winning the first encounter against the Maple Leafs, the Kings are just 4-9-1 versus Atlantic Division representatives this season.