Kings at Rangers preview

KINGS (20-9-3) at RANGERS (16-12-3)
7 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVA Sports, MSG, NHL.TV

Gaborik played for the Rangers from 2009-13 and had 229 points (114 goals, 115 assists) in 255 games.
It will be the Kings' first game since their eight-game winning streak, the longest in the NHL this season, ended with a 5-1 loss at the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
The Rangers, who are 0-1-1 in their past two games, swapped the left wings on two lines, putting Rick Nash with center J.T. Miller and right wing Mats Zuccarello, and shifting Michael Grabner to a line with center Kevin Hayes and right wing Jesper Fast.

Players to watch

Kings center Anze Kopitar has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in his past 11 games.
Zuccarello has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his past 11 games, and has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games against the Kings.

They said it

"They're a very fast team, they've got a great lineup, good defense who like to jump up in the rush. One of the best teams offensively when you look at the stats. We're one of the best defensive teams, so it'll be a good matchup in that way." -- Kings defenseman Drew Doughty
"[Forward Michal Grabner] has been one of our best offensive players in the last few games as far as getting chances and finishing. I wanted to make a little tweak there. [Rick] Nash has been getting some good looks and maybe with [forwards J.T. Miller and Mats Zuccarello] he'll be able to finish a couple of those." -- Rangers coach Alain Vigneault on switching the left wings on two lines

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Kings projected lineup

Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Dustin Brown
Tanner Pearson -- Adrian Kempe -- Tyler Toffoli
Marian Gaborik -- Torrey Mitchell -- Jussi Jokinen
Kyle Clifford -- Nicholas Shore -- Trevor Lewis
Jake Muzzin -- Drew Doughty
Kurtis MacDermid -- Alec Martinez
Derek Forbort -- Christian Folin
Jonathan Quick
Darcy Kuemper
Scratched:Oscar Fantenberg, Andy Andreoff, Jonny Brodzinski
Injured:Jeff Carter (lower body)

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- David Desharnais -- Pavel Buchnevich
Rick Nash -- J.T. Miller -- Mats Zuccarello
Michael Grabner -- Kevin Hayes -- Jesper Fast
Paul Carey -- Boo Nieves -- Jimmy Vesey
Ryan McDonagh -- Nick Holden
Brady Skjei -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Marc Staal -- Brendan Smith
Henrik Lundqvist
Ondrej Pavelec
Scratched:Steven Kampfer
Injured:Mika Zibanejad (concussion)

Status report

Zibanejad took part in the morning skate but was ruled out against the Kings and the Boston Bruins on Saturday. "He's following the protocol," Vigneault said. "He skated on his own yesterday. As far as I know, and I haven't done a lot of checking, he's improving. We'll practice Monday and he'll practice with us Monday."

Stat pack

Doughty has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past four games. … Grabner has six goals in his past eight games.