Kings at Golden Knights preview
Los Angeles begins five-game road trip; Subban will make first start for Vegas since Dec. 27
by Danny Webster / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
KINGS (17-24-4) at GOLDEN KNIGHTS (24-16-6)
10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, FS-W, NHL.TV
The Game
Malcolm Subban will start his first game since Dec. 27 for the Vegas Golden Knights against the Los Angeles Kings at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.
The goalie is 6-2-1 with a 2.52 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in his past nine games.
The Golden Knights will try to win for the fifth time in six games. They're 8-3-1 in their past 12 and 4-1-0 during a seven-game homestand.
The Kings begin a five-game road trip hoping to avoid tying a season-high four-game losing streak set from Oct. 24-30 and Dec. 2-7. Goalie Jack Campbell is expected to start for Los Angeles.
Players to watch
Kings forward Alex Iafallo has nine points (four goals, five assists) during an eight-game point streak.
Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past seven games.
They said it
"I think we're excited to go on the road. Obviously, at the start of the year, we weren't doing very well, but I think we have a little bit of confidence and swagger going into rinks on the road, and I think we should all be excited." -- Kings forward Tyler Toffoli
"There are no easy teams anymore. The standings aren't great [for them] right now, but they're a better team than that. They work hard and compete hard." -- Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant
Kings projected lineup
Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Tyler Toffoli
Nikolai Prokhorkin -- Jeff Carter -- Dustin Brown
Adrian Kempe -- Michael Amadio -- Austin Wagner
Kyle Clifford -- Trevor Lewis - Matt Luff
Sean Walker -- Drew Doughty
Ben Hutton -- Alec Martinez
Derek Forbort -- Matt Roy
Jack Campbell
Jonathan Quick
Scratched: Kurtis MacDermid
Injured: Blake Lizotte (lower body), Joakim Ryan (lower body)
Golden Knights projected lineup
Chandler Stephenson -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty -- Paul Stastny -- Mark Stone
Tomas Nosek -- Cody Eakin -- Alex Tuch
William Carrier -- Nicolas Roy -- Ryan Reaves
Brayden McNabb -- Nate Schmidt
Nick Holden -- Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague -- Deryk Engelland
Malcolm Subban
Marc-Andre Fleury
Scratched: Jon Merrill
Injured: Cody Glass (lower body), Jonathan Marchessault (lower body)
Status report
Lizotte won't play after the forward was injured in the first period of the Kings' 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. Amadio is expected to take his place. … Marchessault, a forward, will miss his fourth consecutive game. ... Nosek took rushes with the third line at the morning skate. Carrier was moved to the fourth line.
Stat pack
Kopitar is one assist from 600 in the NHL. He has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 11 games against the Golden Knights. … Los Angeles has been outscored 10-4 during the losing streak. … Vegas is 13-5-2 since Nov. 27. The 28 points are tied with the Washington Capitals (14-6-0), Toronto Maple Leafs (13-5-2) and Tampa Bay Lightning (13-6-2) for most in the NHL.