The Kings are also looking for answers. They beat San Jose 7-2 on November 5, their most convincing win of the year, and have scored 4 goals in 3 straight losses since: 5-2 to Pittsburgh, 3-0 to Nashville and 5-2 to the Islanders. The Islanders were on a 4-game winless run when they came into Los Angeles, and they led after every period. The Kings were within 1 through 40 minutes before giving up 2 unanswered in the 3rd.
The help for LA is coming from the trainer's room. The Kings activated Kevin Fiala from injured reserve on November 13, a day before this one. Mats Zuccarello (November 9) and Alex Turcotte (November 7) came off IR earlier in the month. That's 3 forwards back in a short span for a team that's been short on goals. How quickly they get up to speed will decide how much they change a lineup that has struggled to score at home.
This one is about which offense shows up first. Calgary plays tight games and has been losing them by a goal or 2 because it can't finish. LA just got its forward group back and needs to prove that matters on the scoresheet. Puck drop is 7:00 PM PT. Two teams that have spent the month losing low-scoring games will be playing to end that before the weekend's over.
