Team Records:
Flyers: 12 - 17 - 7 (31 pts)
Kings: 21 - 12 - 6 (48 pts)
Kings Notes:
With 999 career NHL games under his belt, veteran defenseman Alex Edler is set to appear in his 1,000th career game and can become the sixth Swedish-born defenseman in league history to skate in 1,000 career NHL games, 12th active defenseman, second defenseman from the 2004 NHL Draft class (Alex Goligoski, 1,012 GP) and seventh overall skater from his draft class to reach such mark.
The Kings enter tonight having secured points in their last seven consecutive games (6-0-1), dating back to Dec. 15. During that time, the Kings' six wins and 13 points place second in the league. Forward Phillip Danault, who has led the Kings in scoring since their team point streak started, can extend his point streak to seven games with a point today, tying career-long set from April 7 to April 21, 2022 (5-3=8).
The LA Kings will play on New Year's Eve for the 23rd time in franchise history and just the fifth at home. The last time the Kings played on New Year's Eve was in 2019 against the Philadelphia Flyers, prevailing 5-3. Entering this afternoon, the Kings have won four consecutive Dec. 31 matchups and seven of their last nine.
LA Kings captain Anze Kopitar sits at 597 (198-399=597) career home points, trailing only Marcel Dionne (288-412=700) and Luc Robitaille (322-347=669) in club history. With three more points, Kopitar can become the fifth active player to eclipse 600 career home points.
Flyers Notes:
The Flyers are 31st in faceoff win percentage (45.6%).
The Flyers power play ranks 31st in the NHL (15.1%).
The Flyers penalty kill ranks 23rd in the NHL (74.3%).
Who to Watch:
Viktor Arvidsson, who enters today with seven points (2-5=7) in his last five games, including multi-assist efforts in his last two games. In 35 games this season, Arvidsson has tallied 29 points (10-19=29) which is tied for second-most on the team. Of his 19 assists, 17 have been primary. Arvidsson's 1.77 primary assists-per-60 minutes at all strengths sits fifth in the league (min. TOI: 300 minutes).
Samuel Ersson, who is expected to play in his third career game. Ersson was drafted in the fifth round in 2018 and has one win.
