No rest for Kings with stiff back-to-back test on tap

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The Kings volition transportation a four-game points streak into meetings connected consecutive nights with the Carolina Hurricanes, who ain the NHL’s champion extremity differential and points percentage, and the Washington Capitals, who spot successful the apical 5 successful some categories.

Earlier successful the season, the Kings played the 2 teams successful reverse bid astatine home, losing 2-0 to Alex Ovechkin-led Washington and past 5-4 to Rod Brind’Amour’s relentless Carolina club.

Yet precocious the Kings person been astatine their astir assured and assertive, winning 3 of their past 4 games and earning points successful each four. They prevailed, 4-1, against a short-handed Florida Panthers nine – connected Thursday a full of 7 Florida players had entered the COVID-19 protocols and truthful excessively had Kings prima defenseman Drew Doughty – to manus Florida its 3rd location nonaccomplishment of the season. It was the Kings’ 3rd triumph by 3 goals oregon much successful their past six games, the aforesaid fig of comfy victories they had successful their archetypal 22 contests.

Despite the lack of Doughty, it was thing of a turn-back-the-clock nighttime for the remaining 30-something Kings. Center Anze Kopitar scored his archetypal extremity since Nov. 11, a 14-game span implicit which helium recorded 9 assists. Winger Dustin Brown besides scored, conscionable his 2nd extremity successful his past 23 games. Jonathan Quick made his 4th consecutive commencement and came up with 41 saves, further cementing himself arsenic the Kings’ No. 1 netminder.

“Anyone who’s been astir our squad astatine each successful the past 15 years, I deliberation they recognize that erstwhile he’s connected his game, he’s a game-changer for us,” Brown said. “I’ve gotten to play with 3 of the champion positional players astatine goalie, defenseman and halfway my full (career), they’re each great, with Kopi, Drew and Quickie.”

Defenseman Olli Maatta was different seasoned contributor, scoring his archetypal extremity successful 75 games, hitting the nett 4 times and posting a plus-3 rating. Christian Wolanin drew successful for Doughty, playing his archetypal crippled of the play with the Kings.

At the less-experienced extremity of the spectrum, rookie winger Arthur Kaliyev besides scored. Kaliyev played for the United States successful 2 World Junior Championships, but helium aged retired of the programme this season. Nevertheless, six Kings look headed for this year’s tournament, which volition statesman connected Dec. 26 and beryllium divided betwixt Calgary and Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.

While 2 of the Kings’ astir coveted prospects volition not enactment this play – halfway Quinton Byfield was recovering from a breached ankle erstwhile Canada named its campy invitees and prolific defenseman Brandt Clarke was controversially excluded for a 2nd consecutive twelvemonth – the Kings volition beryllium well-represented crossed 5 of the 10 participating nationalist teams.

Team USA defenseman Brock Faber, winger Martin Chromiak of Slovakia and Russian defenseman Kirill Kirsanov are each returners from past twelvemonth for their respective countries, arsenic are Finnish forwards Samuel Helenius and Kasper Simontaival. Defenseman Helge Grans is simply a first-time rival for Sweden.

Faber is simply a sophomore astatine the University of Minnesota with a modern operation of dependable positioning, fluid skating and a benignant of defence that is assertive without being overly physical.

Chromiak began his vocation with the aforesaid Slovak programme that produced three-time Stanley Cup champion Marian Hossa and Norris Trophy victor Zdeno Chara, arsenic good arsenic erstwhile Kings stars Marian Gaborik, Ziggy Palffy and the precocious Pavol Demitra. This season, Chromiak has transitioned to the North American game, producing 32 points successful 23 games successful the Ontario Hockey League.

Kirsanov is simply a versatile defenseman who excels connected portion entries and efficaciously utilizes his stick. He has the assemblage explanation and spot to person held his ain successful 2 seasons competing against elder professionals successful Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.

Helenius and Simontaival connection a benignant of thunder-and-lightning dynamic astatine other ends of the lineup, with the inescapable wingspan and rugged mentality of Helenius contrasting the swift, diminutive and skilled Simontaival’s game. Simontaival had 7 points successful arsenic galore games past year, and helium volition beryllium counted connected arsenic a balanced violative menace for the Finns.

Grans has been close present successful Southern California with the Ontario Reign, and helium was the lone subordinate the Kings loaned retired from the apical 2 levels of their enactment for the tournament. He is known for his size and mobility, but helium showed flashes of violative quality astatine the inferior level successful Sweden and has posted a respectable 8 points successful 16 games for the Reign.

Circling backmost to this weekend’s opponents, Carolina has been without starring scorer Sebastian Aho, who starred against the Kings earlier this season, owed to COVID protocols. Defensemen Tony DeAngelo, who is averaging astir a constituent per game, and Brett Pesce conscionable exited the protocols, each collecting a constituent successful a triumph implicit Detroit, their archetypal enactment since Nov. 28.

Washington’s seasoned halfway Nicklas Backstrom made his play debut aft recovering from a hep wounded and acceptable up Ovechkin’s first-period power-play extremity successful an overtime nonaccomplishment to Chicago connected Wednesday. The Capitals volition beryllium without halfway Evgeny Kuznetsov, who is successful the COVID protocols. He had 2 bouts with the microorganism past season. Winger Tom Wilson is doubtful for the crippled due to the fact that of an upper-body injury.

The galore moving pieces haven’t bothered the Caps much, peculiarly since Ovechkin presently sits atop the NHL leaderboard successful points and ranks 2nd successful goals. The Caps look Winnipeg connected Friday earlier gathering the Kings, and Ovechkin’s adjacent power-play extremity volition determination him past Dave Andreychuk arsenic the NHL’s vocation person successful man-advantage goals.