Sharks at Kings preview

SHARKS (9-6-0) at KINGS (11-3-2)
10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, FS-W, NHL.TV

The Kings, who play the second of a five-game homestand, gave up four goals in 2:02 of the first period in a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, the first time they failed to earn a point at home (5-1-2).
The Sharks are coming off a 5-0 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, when they scored three shorthanded goals. Logan Couture scored the first in the second period, and Chris Tierney scored twice on the same penalty kill in the third.

Players to watch

Sharks center Joe Thornton needs one assist to tie Joe Sakic (1,016) for 12th place in NHL history. Thornton did not have a point against the Canucks but has nine (two goals, seven assists) in his past 11 games.
Kings forward Tyler Toffoli scored a goal against the Lightning to extend his point streak to four games (three goals, two assists).

They said it

"We always know what we're going to get in L.A. It's going to be a tough game." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer on playing the Kings
"Guys will get tired at certain points, but I think at this point of the season everybody's schedules allowed them to have their guys in a good spot physically." -- Kings coach John Stevens on facing a team playing the second of a back-to-back
Sharks projected lineup
Joonas Donskoi -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski
Melker Karlsson -- Logan Couture -- Tomas Hertl
Timo Meier -- Chris Tierney -- Mikkel Boedker
Jannik Hansen -- Barclay Goodrow -- Joel Ward

Joakim Ryan -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched:Ryan Carpenter, Tim Heed
Injured:Paul Martin (ankle)

Kings projected lineup

Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Dustin Brown
Tanner Pearson -- Adrian Kempe -- Tyler Toffoli
Andy Andreoff -- Nicholas Shore -- Trevor Lewis
Michael Cammalleri -- Brooks Laich -- Nic Dowd
Derek Forbort -- Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin -- Alec Martinez
Kurtis MacDermid -- Oscar Fantenberg
Jonathan Quick
Darcy Kuemper
Scratched:Michael Amadio, Christian Folin
Injured:Jeff Carter (ankle), Kyle Clifford (upper body), Marian Gaborik (knee)

Status report

Kempe will return to the lineup after being a late scratch Thursday because of an illness. … Gaborik practiced with the Kings on Saturday, his first workout with them since he had knee surgery in April. There is still no timetable for when Gaborik will be able to play in a game.

Stat pack

Hertl scored the game-winning goal and had an assist against Vancouver after failing to get a point in his previous four games. … Kopitar has an assist in six straight games as part of a seven-game point streak.