(SportsNetwork.com) – Coming off their first victory of the season, the
Carolina Hurricanes hope to get a winning streak going on Sunday evening as
they host the Los Angeles Kings.
The Hurricanes snapped their 0-6-2 start to the season with a 3-0 win over the
Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night. Cam Ward made 25 saves and Elias Lindholm
scored a pair of goals, including one just 3:57 into the game.
Jiri Tlusty also scored and Justin Faulk had two assists as Bill Peters
finally got his first victory as an NHL head coach.
“We just wanted to get off to a good start in front of the home crowd,” said
Ward, who made 11 saves in the third period to finish off his 22nd career
shutout. “After we went on top quick it made the rest of the team relax a
little more and that helped.”
The Kings have been unable to get on top during their five-game road trip,
going 0-2-1 on the swing right on the heels of a perfect 6-0-0 homestand.
Los Angeles yielded four first-period goals to the Detroit Red Wings on Friday
in a 5-2 loss. Tyler Toffoli and Alec Martinez had the goals for the Kings and
Jonathan Quick yielded four goals on 12 first-period shots before posting 22
saves the rest of the way.
The Kings have been outscored 11-4 on their road trip, which ends on Tuesday
in Dallas, and are 0-2-2 on the road this season.
“We want to play our type of hockey win or lose,” Kings captain Dustin Brown
said. “We have to find a way to get back to that game for a full 60 minutes
and play our style of hockey.”
Los Angeles, though, should have forward Anze Kopitar in the lineup for the
first time on this swing. Kopitar was hurt in last Sunday’s win over visiting
Columbus, with an upper-body injury keeping him out.
“I’m planning on (playing) unless there is something really drastic that
happens,” Kopitar told lakingsinsider.com on Saturday. “But I don’t think I’m
going to be doing anything this afternoon. Hopefully it stays that way and
hopefully I feel like that tomorrow.”
Fellow forward Marian Gaborik is close to returning from an upper-body issue
that has kept him out of eight consecutive games, but his status for tonight
is unknown.
The Kings won both meetings with the Hurricanes last season and have won five
of the past six meetings overall.
