Kings at Lightning preview

KINGS (30-19-5) AT LIGHTNING (37-14-3)
7 p.m. ET, SUN, FS-W, NHL.TV

The Kings are on the second half of back-to-back games after a 3-1 win against the Florida Panthers on Friday. They are 5-1-0 in their past six games and are second in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames and Anaheim Ducks.
The Lightning have 77 points, best in the NHL, and are in first place in the Atlantic Division, with a three-point lead on the Boston Bruins, having played two more games. Tampa Bay is 6-2-0 in its past eight games and is 18-5-1 at Amalie Arena this season.
Tampa Bay defeated Los Angeles 5-2 at Staples Center on Nov. 9.

Players to watch

Anze Kopitar scored his 22nd goal of the season Friday and has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past three games.
Alex Killorn has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past four games.

They said it

"I thought [goalie Jonathan Quick] was really good early and that allowed us to get our feet on the ground. ... We are starting a long trip so I thought it was important to get off on the right foot. It's a good two points to start the trip." -- Kings coach John Stevens on their seven-game road trip
"[Los Angeles] is a big, heavy team and a team that checks. How are we going to respond to these guys? We have to find a way to get inside and use our speed to our advantage." -- Lightning coach Jon Cooper

Kings projected lineup

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

Lightning projected lineup

Yanni Gourde -- Steven Stamkos -- Tyler Johnson
Alex Killorn -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Cory Conacher -- Vladislav Namestnikov --
Adam Erne
Chris Kunitz -- Matthew Peca -- Ryan Callahan
Victor Hedman -- Anton Stralman
Mikhail Sergachev -- Dan Girardi
Andrej Sustr -- Braydon Coburn
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue
Scratched:Slater Koekkoek, Cedric Paquette, Jake Dotchin
Injured:Ondrej Palat (lower body), Peter Budaj (lower body)

Status report

The Kings did not hold a morning skate. ... Lewis left the game Friday after being checked by Panthers center Jared McCann. If he can't play, Gaborik could return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the past three games. ... Paquette likely will be a healthy scratch for the fifth consecutive game.

Stat pack

Kuemper is 4-0-0, with a 0.74 goals-against-average, .973 save percentage and two shutouts in his past four starts. ... Stamkos and Gourde each scored their 20th goals of the season Thursday. It's Stamkos' ninth 20-goal season; Gourde became the fifth Lightning rookie to score 20 or more goals. ... Muzzin has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his past 12 games. ... Vasilevskiy is 5-1-0 with a .938 save percentage and one shutout over his past six starts.