Coyotes at Kings preview

COYOTES (16-18-2) at KINGS (14-20-3)
10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, FS-A, NHL.TV

Carter, who is tied for fourth on the Kings with 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 37 games, is day-to-day because of an upper-body injury.
The Coyotes have scored nine goals in winning their past two games, after scoring two goals during a three-game losing streak (0-3-0).

Players to watch

Coyotes forward Alex Galchenyuk has three points (two goals, one assist) in his past two games after he had two assists in the previous 11.
Kings forward Ilya Kovalchuk has three points (two goals, one assist) in two games since returning from an ankle injury that sidelined him for 10 games.

They said it

"It's always a work in progress, but when we play with a lot of energy it seems like we score." -- Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski
"If you play against the top guys, if you play in their zone, the tank is empty when they get the puck. The [Kings] forwards have been doing a really good job to make longer plays in the offensive zone and try to work them down there and wear them down." -- Kings defenseman Oscar Fantenberg

Coyotes projected lineup

Alex Galchenyuk -- Nick Schmaltz -- Christian Fischer
Richard Panik -- Derek Stepan -- Clayton Keller
Michael Bunting -- Nick Cousins -- Josh Archibald
Lawson Crouse -- Mario Kempe -- Conor Garland
Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Niklas Hjalmarsson
Jakob Chychrun -- Alex Goligoski
Jordan Oesterle -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Darcy Kuemper
Adin Hill
Scratched:Calvin Pickard, Kevin Connauton
Injured: Christian Dvorak (upper body), Jason Demers (lower body), Antti Raanta (lower body), Michael Grabner (upper body), Vinnie Hinostroza (lower body), Brad Richardson (illness)

Kings projected lineup

Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Dustin Brown
Ilya Kovalchuk -- Adrian Kempe -- Tyler Toffoli
Austin Wagner --
Michael Amadio
-- Matt Luff
Kyle Clifford -- Nate Thompson -- Brendan Leipsic
Derek Forbort -- Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin --
Sean Walker
Oscar Fantenberg -- Paul LaDue
Jonathan Quick
Cal Petersen
Scratched: Nikita Scherbak, Daniel Brickley
Injured: Jeff Carter (upper body), Alec Martinez (upper body), Dion Phaneuf (upper body), Carl Hagelin (knee), Trevor Lewis (foot), Jack Campbell (knee), Jonny Brodzinski (shoulder)

Status report

Richardson has the flu and will miss his first game of the season. Hinostroza could play against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday after practicing Thursday, coach Rick Tocchet said. … Phaneuf practiced Thursday but will miss his sixth straight game.

Stat pack

Garland has goals in consecutive games after going without a point in his first seven NHL games. … Iafallo has nine points (four goals, five assists) during a seven-game point streak. He has goals in four straight games, the longest streak of his NHL career.