Devils at Kings preview

DEVILS (25-27-11) at KINGS (23-35-6)
4 p.m. ET; FS-W, MSG+, NHL.TV

The Devils, who are 15 points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, lost 3-2 in overtime at the San Jose Sharks on Thursday to end a three-game winning streak. New Jersey is 7-3-1 in its past 11 games.
The Kings are 4-2-1 in their past seven games, including a 3-1-1 record in their past five home games. Los Angeles is in last place in the Western Conference.
Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson will make his NHL debut on Saturday. Anderson, selected in the fourth round (No. 103) in the 2017 NHL Draft, won the NCAA championship with Minnesota-Duluth in 2018 and 2019. He is the younger brother of Devils forward Joey Anderson.

Players to watch

Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood is 7-0-1 with a 1.82 goals-against average and .951 save percentage in his past eight starts. Blackwood saved 37 shots in a 3-0 win against the Kings on Feb. 8.
Kings center Gabriel Vilardi has three points (one goal, two assists) in his first four NHL games.

They said it

"It'll be different playing in this league but I know the buttons to push. And if I get in the corner with him, there might be a little extra grip on the stick to make sure I knock him over, or something like that, but it'll be a good, spirited battle." -- Devils forward Joey Anderson on playing against his brother Mikey
"I couldn't tell you the amount of times we've played an NHL game together in the backyard growing up, so if we're able to face off it would be a pretty special moment for our family." -- Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson on playing against his brother Joey in his NHL debut

Devils projected lineup

Jack Hughes -- Nico Hischier -- Kyle Palmieri
Miles Wood -- Travis Zajac -- Joey Anderson
Jesper Bratt -- Pavel Zacha -- Nikita Gusev
Kevin Rooney -- Michael McLeod -- John Hayden
Mirco Mueller -- P.K. Subban
Dakota Mermis -- Damon Severson
Fredrik Claesson -- Connor Carrick
Mackenzie Blackwood
Cory Schneider
Scratched: None
Injured: Will Butcher (upper body)

Kings projected lineup

Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Dustin Brown
Trevor Moore -- Blake Lizotte -- Trevor Lewis
Adrian Kempe -- Gabriel Vilardi -- Martin Frk
Nikolai Prokhorkin -- Michael Amadio -- Austin Wagner
Ben Hutton -- Drew Doughty
Kurtis MacDermid -- Sean Walker
Mikey Anderson -- Matt Roy
Jonathan Quick
Cal Petersen
Scratched: Joakim Ryan
Injured:Jeff Carter (lower body)

Status report

Blackwood will start against the Kings, coach Alain Nasreddine said. Schneider is likely to start against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. … Carter, a forward, did not practice Friday and will miss his fifth straight game.

Stat pack

Gusev has seven points (two goals, five assists) during a four-game point streak. … The Devils are 6-for-18 (33.3 percent) on the power play in their past four games. … Kempe needs one point for 100 in the NHL. He has five assists in his past seven games.