Ducks at Kings preview
Miller to start in goal for Anaheim; Los Angeles seek second straight win without Doughty
by Dan Greenspan / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
DUCKS (20-26-5) at KINGS (19-28-5)
10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, PRIME, NHL.TV
The Game
Drew Doughty will miss his third straight game when the Los Angeles Kings host the Anaheim Ducks at Staples Center on Saturday.
Doughty, who has not played since the League-mandated five-day break and the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend because of an undisclosed injury, practiced Saturday. Kings coach Todd McLellan said Doughty would likely practice again Monday and the defenseman could return at the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
The Kings will try to win consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 15-17 after defeating the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 in overtime on Thursday to end a five-game winless streak (0-4-1).
The Ducks are playing the second of back-to-back games after losing 4-3 at home to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday.
Players to watch
Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf had two assists against the Lightning. He has 57 points (19 goals, 38 assists) in 73 games against the Kings.
Kings forward Alex Iafallo has four goals in his past two games, including a hat trick against Arizona.
They said it
"It feels like we play really well most times in the game and then something happens and it's in the back of our net, so we still have some things to work on." -- Ducks forward Rickard Rakell
"He's scoring right now because he is shooting. … Alex isn't a younger player anymore. He's established himself in the League. You can be a little bit of selfish at times and shoot it." -- Kings coach Todd McLellan on Alex Iafallo
Ducks projected lineup
Rickard Rakell -- Ryan Getzlaf -- Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie -- Adam Henrique -- Troy Terry
Max Jones -- Sam Steel -- Ondrej Kase
Nicolas Deslauriers -- Derek Grant -- Carter Rowney
Hampus Lindholm -- Erik Gudbranson
Cam Fowler -- Josh Manson
Jacob Larsson -- Michael Del Zotto
Ryan Miller
John Gibson
Scratched: Korbinian Holzer, Devin Shore
Injured: None
Kings projected lineup
Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Dustin Brown
Austin Wagner -- Blake Lizotte -- Matt Luff
Adrian Kempe -- Jeff Carter -- Tyler Toffoli
Kyle Clifford -- Michael Amadio -- Trevor Lewis
Alec Martinez -- Kurtis MacDermid
Sean Walker -- Ben Hutton
Derek Forbort -- Matt Roy
Jonathan Quick
Jack Campbell
Scratched: Joakim Ryan, Nikolai Prokhorkin
Injured: Drew Doughty (undisclosed)
Status report
Miller is expected to start for the Ducks after Gibson allowed four goals on 22 shots against Tampa Bay. … Ryan, a defenseman, and Prokhorkin, a forward, stayed on the ice for additional work after the morning skate, an indication they'll be healthy scratches.
Stat pack
The Ducks have killed 14 of 15 penalties (93.3 percent) in their past eight road games. … Brown has five points (two goals, three assists) during a five-game point streak. He has 52 points (27 goals, 25 assists) in 83 games against the Ducks. Quick is 1-6-1 in his past eight starts with a 2.90 goals-against average and .901 save percentage.