Los Angeles visits New York for non-conference showdown

Updated Jan. 26, 2022 3:10 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Los Angeles Kings (21-16-6, third in the Pacific) vs. New York Islanders (15-14-6, sixth in the Metropolitan)

Elmont; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: New York hosts Los Angeles in a non-conference matchup.

The Islanders are 8-7-3 at home. New York averages 10.0 penalty minutes per game, the fourth-most in the Eastern Conference. Zdeno Chara leads the team serving 64 total minutes.

The Kings are 8-6-4 on the road. Los Angeles ranks 30th in the NHL with 35.4 shots per game and is averaging 2.8 goals.

The teams face off Thursday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Mathew Barzal leads the Islanders with 26 points, scoring eight goals and adding 18 assists. Josh Bailey has 9 points over the last 10 games for New York.

Anze Kopitar leads the Kings with 24 total assists and has 37 points. Phillip Danault has five goals over the last 10 games for Los Angeles.

LAST 10 GAMES: Islanders: 7-2-1, averaging 2.9 goals, 5.5 assists, 2.7 penalties and 6.3 penalty minutes while giving up 1.9 goals per game with a .931 save percentage.

Kings: 5-4-1, averaging three goals, 4.3 assists, 3.3 penalties and 9.1 penalty minutes while allowing 2.5 goals per game with an .892 save percentage.

INJURIES: Islanders: Sebastian Aho: out (covid-19).

Kings: None listed.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by