Flyers, Kings try to keep momentum from big wins
After struggling to build momentum in October, the Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers capped off the month with emotional victories.
The Kings and Flyers will try to build off those performances when they meet Thursday night at Staples Center.
The Kings (3-7-1) ended a six-game losing streak and avoided their longest skid in nearly 11 years when they rallied to beat the visiting New York Rangers 4-3 on Sunday afternoon.
The Flyers (5-7-0) ended a three-game losing streak by holding off the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Tuesday night to open a four-game road trip.
"Getting on the road with the team for this trip is good to get away from distractions at home and just be with the guys pretty much 24/7," said Flyers forward Nolan Patrick, who scored the go-ahead goal with 1:51 left against the Ducks.
The Kings revealed on Wednesday that veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee. Quick is 0-3-1 in four starts this season with a .845 save percentage and 4.55 goals-against average.
"He's a big part of your team and you want him in net," Kings coach John Stevens told LA Kings Insider. "Injuries do happen and I'm not sure there's anything in particular you can point to in this situation."
Los Angeles will likely continue with Jack Campbell as the No. 1 goalie moving forward.
Campbell is 3-4-0 this season with a .912 save percentage and a 2.72 goals-against average. The Kings scored one goal in each of his four losses. When Los Angeles scores at least three goals, Campbell is 3-0-0 this season.
Stevens liked the way the Kings moved the puck with speed against the Rangers, stayed on top of their forecheck and kept a consistent net presence.
"We just want to build off of the Rangers game," Stevens said. "We want to be able to execute with the puck. I think if you can manage the puck, you can spend time in the other zone and we hadn't been able to do that."
The Flyers hope to build off their win in Anaheim as well.
Philadelphia hadn't beaten the Ducks in regulation since Feb. 2, 2008, and appeared headed to overtime after the Ducks tied the score with 2:12 left, but Patrick scored 21 seconds later.
Flyers coach David Hakstol would also like to see a repeat performance from defenseman Ivan Provorov. He scored the second goal off a deflection in front of the net and broke up several 2-on-1 opportunities by the Ducks
"Provi draws a lot of attention," Hakstol said. "Sometimes, when things don't go well for our team, he draws a lot of negative attention. You've got to remember, he's playing against the other team's best player every night and that's his job."
Kings top-line center Anze Kopitar can expect to see a lot of Provorov on Thursday.
Like a number of Kings, Kopitar is off to a slow start, owning four points (three goals, one assist) in 10 games.
He hasn't done much against the Flyers in his 13-year career either, scoring one goal in 17 games, the fewest against any NHL opponent.
