Kings at Canucks preview
Quick starts in goal for Los Angeles; Vancouver seeks fourth straight win
by Dan Greenspan / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
KINGS (16-20-4) at CANUCKS (19-15-4)
10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN360, SN1, CITY, FS-W, NHL.TV
The Game
The Vancouver Canucks will try for a season-best fourth straight win when they face the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Arena on Saturday.
The Canucks have outscored opponents 13-7 in their three-game winning streak, all at home, including a 4-2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. Vancouver is playing its first game since the three-day Christmas break, and it is the first game of a back-to-back.
The Kings defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-2 in overtime on Friday after losing their previous two games. Los Angeles is 4-1-2 in its past seven road games.
Players to watch
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick will start for the Kings. He is 0-2-0 with a 6.55 goals-against average and .824 save percentage against the Canucks this season.
Canucks forward Brock Boeser has four points (one goal, three assists) during a three-game point streak. Boeser has five points (three goals, two assists) in two games against the Kings this season.
They said it
"I don't think you'll see us putting up the dividing line between the first and the second half. I think a lot of players have grown and we need to continue on with what we're doing and not let them off the hook or promote them too much, just let them grow." -- Kings coach Todd McLellan on nearing the halfway point of the season
"He's just a good hockey player. He does a lot of good things that probably go unnoticed. I think when he has his legs, his skating legs, he's an effective player at both ends of the rink. He's got a sneaky shot." -- Canucks coach Travis Green on forward Tanner Pearson, who has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his past 13 games
Kings projected lineup
Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Tyler Toffoli
Adrian Kempe -- Blake Lizotte -- Austin Wagner
Martin Frk -- Jeff Carter -- Nikolai Prokhorkin
Kyle Clifford -- Michael Amadio -- Matt Luff
Joakim Ryan -- Drew Doughty
Kurtis MacDermid -- Sean Walker
Ben Hutton -- Matt Roy
Jonathan Quick
Jack Campbell
Scratched: Kale Clague
Injured: Dustin Brown (illness), Trevor Lewis (upper body), Alec Martinez (wrist), Derek Forbort (back)
Canucks projected lineup
J.T. Miller -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson -- Bo Horvat -- Loui Eriksson
Antoine Roussel -- Adam Gaudette -- Jake Virtanen
Tyler Motte -- Jay Beagle -- Tim Schaller
Quinn Hughes -- Christopher Tanev
Alexander Edler -- Troy Stecher
Oscar Fantenberg -- Tyler Myers
Jacob Markstrom
Thatcher Demko
Scratched: Zack MacEwen, Jordie Benn
Injured: Josh Leivo (fractured kneecap), Brandon Sutter (upper body), Micheal Ferland (upper body), Tyler Graovac (upper body)
Status report
Brown will miss his second straight game. … The Canucks are expected to use the same lineup that played against the Oilers after holding an optional skate Saturday.
Stat pack
The Canucks are 2-0-0 against the Kings this season and have outscored them 13-5. … Pettersson has five points (two goals, three assists) in two games against the Kings this season. … Iafallo has three points (one goal, two assists) during a three-game point streak.