Kings at Sharks preview

KINGS (22-10-4) AT SHARKS (18-11-4)
10 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, FS-W, NHL.TV

The Kings, who began Saturday with the best record in the Western Conference, are 10-2-1 in their past 13 games after going 1-6-1 in their previous eight. Goaltender Jonathan Quick will make his 29th start of the season; he's 8-2-0 with 19 goals-against in his past 10 starts, and has held opponents to two goals or fewer in eight of those 10.
The Sharks have one regulation loss in their past eight games (4-1-3). Goaltender Martin Jones will make his 13th start against his former team; he's 7-3-2 with a 2.32 goals-against average and .921 save percentage against Los Angeles. He is 1-3-2 in his past six starts, having allowed four or more goals in each of them.

Players to watch

Kings center Anze Kopitar has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in his past 12 games.
Sharks center Joe Thornton has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past seven games and 1,416 for his career, 18th on the NHL's all-time list. He needs four more points to tie Adam Oates for 17th.

They said it

"These guys have played extremely hard and we have an opportunity to try to get a big win in the division and finish first place in the Western Conference." -- Kings coach John Stevens on their final game before the Christmas break
"It's a problem. When I go to three lines or overplay key guys, it's not hitting you now, but it will hit you. It's inevitable. It will catch you in March or April in the critical times. We've got to get that figured out." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer on their fourth line

Kings projected lineup

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

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Sharks projected lineup

Jannik Hansen -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski
Melker Karlsson -- Tomas Hertl -- Kevin Labanc
Timo Meier -- Chris Tierney -- Joonas Donskoi
Marcus Sorensen -- Joel Ward -- Mikkel Boedker
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Brent Burns
Joakim Ryan -- Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Tim Heed
Injured: Logan Couture (concussion), Barclay Goodrow (lower body)

Status report

Ryan, recalled Friday from the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League, will replace Heed. ... Defenseman Paul Martin missed his final conditioning game with the Barracuda on Friday with the flu but is expected to rejoin the Sharks after the break.

Stat pack

Brown has three points (one goal, two assists) in a three-game point streak. … Burns has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past seven games.