Tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET, the Los Angeles Kings (17-7-4, 38 points) and Anaheim Ducks (18-7-4, 40 points) faceoff live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles for the first of five meetings against each other this season. The game can be live streamed here. Los Angeles fans can hear all of the hard-hitting action on KTLK-AM 1150 while Anaheim fans can do the same on KLAA-AM 830.
Los Angeles enters play at sixth place in the Western Conference while Anaheim comes in at third and both teams are chasing the San Jose Sharks (18-3-5, 41 points) for the top spot in the Pacific Division. This is the first of five meetings between the two teams this season, with the main attraction set to occur outdoors on Jan. 25 as part of the NHL's Stadium Series at Dodgers Stadium.
For the Ducks, Dustin Penner faces his old team for the first time since leaving Los Angeles to sign a one-year deal with Anaheim last July.
"There's a lot of familiarity with the other team, systems, players and tendencies," Penner told the Ducks' website Monday. "It's a unique experience for any player, especially in two cities that are heated rivals."
Penner ranks third on the team in scoring with 21 points off of nine goals and 12 assists. Corey Perry is second on the team with 29 points off of 15 tallies and 14 helpers while Ryan Getzlaf has a 10-game point streak and is the team-leader with 31 points by finding the twine 13 times and adding 18 assists.
The Kings are coming off of a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues Monday night in the first meeting against the Blues since the Kings ousted them in six games during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"We cleaned up a lot," defenseman Jake Muzzin said, according to NHL.com. "We focused being quick in our zone, getting pucks in and out, and not giving them time to set up or get a forecheck going or a cycle game going. When we're cleaning and quick in our zone, we don't give them a chance to get time in our zone."
Anze Kopitar has five points in his last seven games and leads the Kings with 24 points off of seven goals and 17 assists while Mike Richards has found the back of the net six times and added 16 attempts for 22 points and Justin Williams has lit the lamp 10 times and added 10 helpers for 20 points.
In the crease, Ben Scrivens has filled in nicely for the injured Jonathan Quick (groin), and he's posted a 7-2-4 record with a 1.56 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage for the Kings while Jonas Hiller is 9-4-3 with a 2.70 GAA and a .904 save percentage thus far this season for the Ducks.
Two division rivals meet for the first time this season when the puck is dropped on the Kings and the Ducks tonight at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
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