It'll be light week for Kings hockey as just one game is on the schedule. A Tuesday game in Carolina will close out the Kings second six-game road trip of the season and will conclude the unofficial first half of the season. Later in the week, the NHL's 2023 All-Star Game and Skills Competition will take place on Friday and Saturday in Sunrise, Florida, the home of the Florida Panthers. The Kings lone representative is Kevin Fiala.
The Kings will wrap up their road trip in Carolina against the Metropolitan Division leading Hurricanes on Tuesday. Currently holding a 32-9-8 record, the Hurricanes hold the second best record in the NHL and are coming off of a 4-1 home win on Sunday over the NHL's top team, the Boston Bruins. Entering Tuesday, the Hurricanes are 7-0-1 in their last eight games with a goal differential of +15. One area that Kings fans should be aware of is in the face-off circle. Both teams are used to starting play with the puck as the Kings (52.6.%) and Hurricanes (53.2%) both rank in the top five in face-off win percentage. When in Carolina, the Kings will face a red hot Sebastian Aho who has seven goals in his last four games and Martin Necas who has four points (3-1=4) in his last four games.
Following Tuesday's tilt, the Kings (aside from Fiala) will be game-free until February 10th. As for Fiala, this will be the Swiss's first All-Star Game appearance. Fiala leads the Kings in assists (35) and points (52). The All-Star Skills Competition will be held on Friday, February 3rd at 4:00 PM and the All-Star Game will take place on Saturday, February 4th at 12:00 PM.
Tuesday's Kings game can be seen on Bally Sports West or Bally Sports +. The All-Star weekend events can be seen on ESPN, ABC and ESPN+.
Upcoming games this week:
- 1/31 @ Carolina Hurricanes @4:00
