Devils at Kings preview

DEVILS (36-26-8) at KINGS (39-26-6)
4 p.m. ET; FS-W, MSG+, NHL.TV

The Devils, who are 3-1-0 in their past four games, trail the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets by one point for third. New Jersey holds the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the Florida Panthers.
The Kings, who are 2-0-1 in their past three games, are in third place in the Pacific Division. Their 84 points are tied with the Anaheim Ducks, but they hold third because they have played one fewer game. Los Angeles trails the San Jose Sharks by three points for second place.

Players to watch

Devils forward Taylor Hall has a point in 27 of his past 29 games, with 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists) in that span.
Kings center Anze Kopitar has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) during a six-game point streak.

They said it

"As a young player, he's always been a force to be reckoned with. I just think his consistency is probably the one thing that's different this year. His 200-foot game right now is probably more sound than it's been at any point in his career." -- Kings coach John Stevens on Devils forward Taylor Hall
"You know he's going to do his thing, but if every line is contributing we're going to be a really tough team to handle here." -- Devils forward Blake Coleman on Hall

Devils projected lineup

Taylor Hall -- Travis Zajac -- Kyle Palmieri
Michael Grabner
-- Nico Hischier -- Brian Gibbons
Stefan Noesen -- Blake Coleman -- Jesper Bratt
Miles Wood -- Brian Boyle -- Drew Stafford
Andy Greene -- Sami Vatanen
John Moore -- Damon Severson
Will Butcher -- Ben Lovejoy
Keith Kinkaid
Cory Schneider
Scratched:Jimmy Hayes, Mirco Mueller
Injured:Pavel Zacha (upper body), Marcus Johansson (concussion), Pat Maroon (lower body)

Kings projected lineup

Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Dustin Brown
Tobias Rieder -- Jeff Carter -- Trevor Lewis
Tanner Pearson -- Adrian Kempe -- Tyler Toffoli
Kyle Clifford -- Michael Amadio -- Nate Thompson
Derek Forbort -- Drew Doughty
Dion Phaneuf -- Alec Martinez
Jake Muzzin -- Paul LaDue
Jonathan Quick
Jack Campbell
Scratched:Christian Folin, Andy Andreoff, Kevin Gravel, Torrey Mitchell
Injured:None

Status report

Zacha did not practice Friday and could miss his fourth straight game. Maroon has a lower-body injury and may not play. … Muzzin had a soft wrap on his left thumb following practice Friday. He briefly left a 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday after blocking a shot in the first period with his left hand.

Stat pack

Butcher has five assists during a four-game point streak. … Zajac has four points (three goals, one assist) in his past three games. … Doughty has seven points (one goal, six assists) during a four-game point streak.