Canadiens try to halt California woes vs. Kings
LOS ANGELES -- The Montreal Canadiens will continue their annual trek through California when they face the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on Sunday afternoon. Though the temperatures are warmer than back home in their native Quebec, the reception from their hosts has been ice cold.
Montreal (16-6-2) sits atop the Atlantic Division thanks to its superior 12-1-1 record at home. Its 1-0 loss at San Jose on Friday dropped their road record below .500 (4-5-1).
The road through California has been especially rough with Montreal posting a 1-8-2 record in the last 11 games against the California teams (San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles). The Canadiens have struggled to find their offense in the first three games of this road trip, posting only five goals in three games and wasting two strong performances by goaltender Carey Price.
"You just have to keep grinding," said Price after suffering his third regulation loss in 17 games. "You just have to keep working and hopefully our fortunes will turn for the rest of the trip."
The challenge for Montreal is the contrast of styles posed by Los Angeles. The Canadiens' speed game was successful in a 4-1 win over the Kings on Nov. 10, but they have been worn down by both the Ducks and Sharks in consecutive losses. In order to break their losing streak and sweep the season series against the Kings, the Canadiens know they must control the tempo.
"We've gotten away from our game," defenseman Jeff Petry told the Montreal Gazette prior to the San Jose loss. "We were using our speed then we got away from that. It's something that we need to learn from because if we use our speed, we're a tough team to handle."
The Kings (13-10-1) will look to avenge last month's loss at Montreal with continuing strong play on home ice. They enter the game with a 9-3-0 home record and appear to have found their stride after an inconsistent opening month. A 4-3 win in Arizona on Thursday was the sixth in seven games for the Kings, who trail the division-leading San Jose Sharks by four points with a game in hand.
After being besieged with injuries to start the season, Los Angeles' depth is bolstered by the return of two key players and better health by one of its stars. Left winger Marian Gaborik missed the season's first 20 games with a broken foot. Goaltender Jeff Zatkoff, plagued by groin injuries that limited him to just five appearances, earned his first win as a King in the Arizona victory.
Anze Kopitar put up his first multi-point game since missing five games with a wrist injury, registering two assists in the Arizona win.
Zatkoff was thought to be the starter after Jonathan Quick was sidelined with a serious groin injury but Peter Budaj was anointed by coach Darryl Sutter with Zatkoff's health issues. Budaj had appeared in 22 consecutive games before being relieved by Zatkoff after the first period in Arizona.
"Not playing eats away at you in the sense that you want to play, you want to contribute to the team and you want to be a piece of the puzzle," Zatkoff said. "I feel really comfortable with my game and I just want to keep building on it."
If Los Angeles creates enough offense to split the season series, it will likely do it without help from its special teams. Despite having a star-studded lineup and one of the best home records in the league, the Kings' power-play production at home has been virtually non-existent, converting on 3 of 26 chances to tie them with the New York Islanders for 28th place in the NHL.
