{coyotes} COYOTES (6-2-2) at KINGS (6-4-0)

Wednesday, 23 October 2013

{coyotes} COYOTES (6-2-2) at KINGS (6-4-0)

COYOTES (6-2-2) at KINGS (6-4-0)

Thursday, October 24, 2013

10:30 PM ET

TV: FS-A, FS-W

Season series: This is the first of five season meetings between these Pacific Division rivals. The Los Angeles Kings make the return trip to play the Phoenix Coyotes next Tuesday. The Kings have won six of their last eight matchups with the Coyotes dating back to the 2012 Western Conference Final.

Big story: There's a new-look Pacific this season after realignment, but some things never change. Rivals Phoenix and Los Angeles continue to jostle for position near the top of that division, and Thursday's matchup is poised to be the first of many heated encounters this season.

The Coyotes are looking to build off a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, a win that prolonged a seven-game point streak in the desert. The Kings, meanwhile, will try to rebound from a rare home defeat to those same Flames on Monday.

Team scope:

Coyotes: Before the season most prognosticators were saying Phoenix's season would hinge on the play of its goaltender, Mike Smith. And while Smith has been effective, the addition of forward Mike Ribeiro this offseason has proven just as vital. Ribeiro carries a seven-game point streak of his own into the game with Los Angeles, including four goals in his past two games. Since joining a line with Mikkel Boedker and David Moss, Ribeiro has five goals and nine points, including three game-winners.

"[Calgary is] not an easy team to play. They make you skate 200 feet all the time, but we stuck together and we got the plays we needed," Ribeiro said after Tuesday's win. "I'm enjoying playing with [Boedker and Moss], and we were able to break them down with the forecheck and open up the ice a little."

Kings: Los Angeles is another team it's never easy to play against. Against the Flames on Monday, however, the Kings suffered a few atypical lapses in concentration on the penalty kill. The Kings conceded three goals on six power-play chances, including one to TJ Brodie with just 30 seconds left in regulation, as the Flames prevailed 3-2.

"We definitely lost the special teams battles," said forward Anze Kopitar, who took the hooking penalty that led to Brodie's winner. "Usually when that happens, the outcome is not going to be very good, especially when it is by that big of a margin. We took some bad penalties, including myself. It was a stupid penalty on my part and shouldn't have happened."

The Kings do have the benefit of two days' rest before the tilt with Phoenix. The time off, their first two-day break since Oct. 7, will be a welcome respite for coach Darryl Sutter.

"I thought we looked fatigued, quite honest," Sutter said. "Tonight was 10 [games] in 19 [days], and the other team was clearly fresher than ours. I think it was their eighth game. [It was a] big difference."

Who's hot: Smith is 4-0-2 over his last six games for the Coyotes. … Kings defenseman Drew Doughty has two goals and an assist in his last two games.

Injury report: Coyotes captain Shane Doan has been ruled out of Thursday's game with a lower-body injury. … The Los Angeles Kings enter with a full lineup.

Team Stats