Kings at Coyotes
Save for All-Stars Jeff Carter and reigning Norris Trophy winner Drew Doughty, the Los Angeles Kings haven't skated competitively on the ice at Staples Center for nearly two weeks. The Kings will vie for a winning road trip on Tuesday as they end a pronounced five-game trek with a visit to the Arizona Coyotes.
Carter has collected 10 goals and nine assists in his last 18 games before joining Doughty by scoring a goal and setting up two others to pace the Pacific Division representatives into the final of Sunday's All-Star Game. Doughty has recorded one goal and four assists during his four-game point streak for the Kings, who have answered a season high-tying four-game losing skid by winning each of the last two contests. Last-place Arizona has lit a spark under its 29th-ranked offense by scoring 11 goals during its three-game winning streak. Tobias Rieder has scored a goal in all three contests and also tallied in a 4-3 setback to Los Angeles on Dec. 1.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE KINGS (24-21-4): Veteran Peter Budaj made 22 saves to extend his career high in shutouts to five in a 3-0 victory versus Vancouver on Thursday. The 34-year-old has a .936 save percentage in his past seven starts (4-3-0), although he yielded two goals on six shots to earn an early exit in the previous encounter with the Coyotes. Captain Anze Kopitar notched two assists in that meeting and has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 11 games in January after being held to just 16 (three goals, 13 assists) in the previous three months.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (16-16-6): Mike Smith turned a few heads with an impressive performance during the All-Star skills competition, but the veteran goaltender told AZCentral.com that he hasn't considered waiving his no-trade clause should a new opportunity make itself available prior to the upcoming deadline. "Obviously, everyone wants to be in a position to win and get in the playoffs and be a competitive team and that's no different for me," the 34-year-old Smith said. "I think I want to be in a position to have a chance to win before my career's over, but I feel like this is moving in the right direction. Things can turn around fairly quickly here. I want to be a big part of that." Smith turned aside 87 of 92 shots during Arizona's three-game winning streak and owns a 13-7-1 mark with a 2.22 goals-against average in his career versus the Kings.
OVERTIME
1. Arizona RW Radim Vebata has one goal and four assists in the last three games and also set up a goal in the first encounter with Los Angeles.
2. Kings RW Dustin Brown has been held off the scoresheet in all four contests of the road trip after mustering six points in his previous five games.
3. Los Angeles D Matt Greene (undisclosed) was placed on injured reserve Monday, retroactive to Jan. 20.