The Kings (18-25-4) are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss at Minnesota on Tuesday. Jeff Carter's goal with 2:30 left in regulation forced extra playing time, but the Wild's Jason Zucker scored the only goal of the shootout to hand the Kings their third loss in the last four games (1-2-1) and sixth in the last nine (3-5-1).
Jack Campbell was the first goaltender off the ice for the Kings this morning, so he is the expected starter tonight. Campbell, the former first-round pick of the Stars, is 5-9-0 and leads the NHL in save percentage (.930) and ranks second in goals against average (2.21).
Campbell, who was selected 11th overall by the Stars in the 2010 NHL Draft, spent four years in the Dallas minor-league system and played one NHL game for the Stars before being traded to the Kings for defenseman Nick Ebert in June 2016.
"I always remember being drafted by Dallas and some of my friends and teammates," Campbell told Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times Wednesday. "Obviously it's a great city. There's some good fans here that supported me and still do. I appreciate that, but obviously I've been with L.A. now for quite a while and it definitely feels like home, so it's fun to come in here with this group, and it will be fun to be back in that building."
Tonight will be Campbell's first game against the Stars, something he pondered yesterday.
"That would kind of be the icing on the cake as far as turning the page, which I feel like I've done," Campbell told the Times. "It's just kind of the last thing -- playing those guys -- and it would be fun to play against some of the top players, Seguin and Benn and all those guys.
"Anytime I'm here, it's fun to beat them, that's for sure."
