Looking for their fifth road win of the season, the Dallas Stars (5-6-4) face a difficult task on Thursday night as they head to the Pacific to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings (8-4-4). The Kings come into this game sporting a 7-1-1 record on their Staples Center home ice this season.
Game time is 9:30 p.m. CST. The game will be televised locally on Fox Sports Southwest.
This is the second of three meetings between the clubs this season. On Nov. 4, the Kings skated off with a 3-1 win at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The Stars enter this game having pulled off a 4-3 comeback win over Arizona on Tuesday. The win snapped a seven-game winless drought for Dallas. Two goals by Tyler Seguin (who has tallied five times in the last two games) and third period goals by Erik Cole and Ryan Garbutt (shorthanded) sealed the win for Dallas. Kari Lehtonen made 34 saves in goal.
On the injury front, third-line center Cody Eakin (upper body) is expected back in the lineup tonight after missing the last three games. Newly acquired forward Travis Moen is not yet with the team. Right winger Valeri Nichushkin (hip/groin) remains out of the lineup.
The Kings enter the game coming off a frustrating 6-5 road shootout loss in Anheim last night. LA did not play particularly well but had success in finishing scoring chances as they built leads of 2-0, 3-1 and 5-3. Jonathan Quick deserved a better fate in net but surrendered five regulation goals as his team got outshot by a 49-26 margin.
Tonight's game is the first in a four-game homestand for the Kings. Both LA and Dallas are looking to get struggling power plays back on track. The Stars enter tonight in a 2-for-24 skid on the man advantage over the past six games. The Kings are 1-for-24 in their last six games. However, LA leads the NHL with four shorthanded goals to date, spurred by three from Tyler Toffoli.
On the LA injury front, defensemen Robyn Regehr (leg) and Andrew Bodnarchuk (knee) are out of the lineup. Defenseman Slava Voynov (criminal investigation surrounding alleged domestic abuse) remains suspended indefinitely by the NHL.
Entering tonight's game, Toffoli leads the Kings in scoring with 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists). Jeff Carter is two points behind. Anze Kopitar (seven points in 13 games) and Marian Gaborik (four points in eight games) both missed time with injuries but appear to be heating up offensively as each player has tallied in back-to-back games heading into tonight.