Kings at Coyotes preview

KINGS (24-35-8) at COYOTES (33-29-5)
8 p.m. ET; FS-A, FS-W, NHL.TV

Arizona, 7-1-0 in its past eight games, is three points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
The Kings lost to the St. Louis Blues 4-0 at Staples Center on Thursday and have lost 12 of 13 (1-8-4). They've split two games with the Coyotes this season.
Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper is 8-1-0 with two shutouts in his past nine starts. He made 30 saves in the Coyotes' 2-0 win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday, his third shutout of the season.

Players to watch

Kings forward Anze Kopitar has four points (two goals, two assists) in his past four games and 73 points (20 goals, 53 assists) in 69 games against the Coyotes.
Coyotes forward Alex Galchenyuk has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his past 13 games.

They said it

"For us, we better be ready. If we think they're the Arizona of old, we're wrong because they're not. They've gone into a lot of tough buildings and won, and they're going to be playing hard." -- Kings coach Willie Desjardins
"We've played the way we want to play regardless of who was in the lineup. … I saw everyone put in 100 percent and buy into the system and the philosophy. We've had some key injuries and we're right there to make the playoffs." --Coyotes forward Michael Grabner, who returned Thursday after missing 41 games with an eye injury

Kings projected lineup

Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Dustin Brown
Brendan Leipsic -- Jeff Carter -- Ilya Kovalchuk
Tyler Toffoli -- Adrian Kempe -- Carl Grundstrom
Kyle Clifford -- Trevor Lewis -- Jonny Brodzinski
Derek Forbort -- Drew Doughty
Alec Martinez -- Sean Walker
Dion Phaneuf -- Matt Roy
Jonathan Quick
Jack Campbell
Scratched: Paul LaDue, Kurtis MacDermid
Injured: Austin Wagner (lower body)

Coyotes projected lineup

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

Status report

Grundstrom was recalled from Ontario of the American Hockey League and will make his NHL debut. … Wagner could return Thursday against the Nashville Predators.

Stat pack

Brown has three goals and one assist in his past five games. … The Coyotes are 5-1-0 on a seven-game homestand. … Kuemper is 16-4-3 since Jan. 1. … Arizona last made the playoffs in 2011-12.