NEW JERSEY DEVILS (8-3-0) at LA KINGS (5-3-4)

New Jersey continues a 4-game road trip in Los Angeles against the Kings as Crypto.com Arena.

Read below for your game preview presented by Jaeger Lumber and check back for the pre-game story.

MORNING SKATE RECAP

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Devils held an optional skate on Saturday ahead of an early start against the L.A. Kings (6:00 PM local time, 9:00 PM eastern). With the earlier skate and a later practice on Friday, not too many players hit the ice but a handful did: Jesper Bratt, Ondrej Palat, Arseny Gritsyuk, Paul Cotter, Luke Glendening, Juho Lammikko, Brian Halonen, Seamus Casey and Dennis Cholowski plus Jake Allen in goal.

During the skate, Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe was asked about the status of Connor Brown who wasn't on the ice this morning and didn't skate at Friday's practice, either.

"Brown, he's not available today. He could be day-to-day, we're hopeful he can bounce back from it pretty quickly, but not available tonight," said Keefe.

With Brown officially out, Keefe was asked if the lines at practice on Friday were now indicative of what tonight's lineup could look like.

"I think that's fair (to say), yeah," Keefe said.

The lines on Friday were:

Noesen - Hughes - Bratt
Palat - Hischier - Gritsyuk
Meier - Lammikko - Mercer
Cotter - Glendening - Halonen

Sigenthaler - Hamilton
Dillon - Hughes
Cholowski - Nemec

MARKSTROM EXTENDED

Coach Keefe didn't indicate who was going to be his starting goaltender tonight, but with Markstrom not skating at Allen hitting the ice this morning, conventional wisdom has him between hte pipes a day after signing a two-year contract extension.

"To know where you’re gonna be and to keep playing and representing the New Jersey Devils. I want to say thank you to the Blitzer family and their ownership group, Fitzy as well, and obviously my teammates too," said Markstrom. "They’re a big part of why this is a special place to play in, and the fans of the hockey club. We’re excited, my family’s excited, and for me personally it’s nice to turn the page on this one and just focus on playing hockey."

THE SCOOP

For the first time this season the Devils are coming off of two straight loses when they meet the L.A. Kings on Friday evening in Los Angeles. New Jersey most recently lost to the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks, starting its four-game road trip 0-2-0. Already without Brett Pesce on the back end, the status of forward Connor Brown remains questionable for the game against the Kings. Brown missed practice on Friday, with his status undetermined for the game agains the L.A. Kings.

New Jersey will switch up it's defensive pairings against the Kings, notably having defenseman Luke Hughes play his offside on the right, paired with Brenden Dillon.

"We decided to give Luke a go there," head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We think there are some good offensive things he can provide there. We think just giving him a veteran guy is proving to be important, Luke’s still a young guy here, he needs a foundation, someone to settle him down, talk to him when he’s on the bench and we need him to step up in lots of ways so we’ve got to support him appropriately, especially now when we’re asking him to go onto his off side.”

Seamus Casey will not dress against the Kings, while Dennis Cholowski will draw in.

The Kings are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings in the first of their four-game homestand. Despite the shootout loss, the Kings have picked up points in seven straight games.

WHO’S HOT

Devils: Jack Hughes continues to add to his point total with six points in his last five games, including three goals.

Kings: Free agent addition Corey Perry has made an immediate impact. He has five goals and seven points in the Kings' last five games.

INJURIES

Devils:
Glass (upper-body), week-to-week
Pesce (upper-body), unknown
Dadonov (hand), month-to-month
Kovacevic (knee), month-to-month
McLaughlin (undisclosed)
MacEwen (upper body), week-to-week
Brown (undisclosed), day-to-day

Kings:
Foegele (unknown)
Burroughs (upper body)

REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS

• Nov 1, at Los Angeles
• Mar. 14 vs Los Angeles

GAME NOTES

• The Devils have lost two straight game for the first time this NHL season.
• The Kings have picked up points in seven straight games.
• Jack Hughes is tied for the NHL-lead in goals with nine.
• Dawson Mercer is coming off a two-goal performance against the San Jose Sharks
• Jacob Markstrom agreed to terms on a two-year contract, with an AAV of $6 million, on Friday.