Riding 5-game win streak, Lightning clash with Kings

Riding 5-game win streak, Lightning clash with Kings

The Los Angeles Kings will prepare for the finale of their homestand on a high note.After pasting the Minnesota Wild 6-0 on Wednesday behind goaltender David Rittich's 31-save shutout, the Kings will

The Los Angeles Kings will prepare for the finale of their homestand on a high note.After pasting the Minnesota Wild 6-0 on Wednesday behind goaltender David Rittich’s 31-save shutout, the Kings will wrap up their three-game stretch at home Saturday night by seeking a third straight victory when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning.And threes were wild Wednesday for Los Angeles (36-22-11, 83 points).In a pair of three-goal periods in the first 40 minutes against the Wild, the Kings had six different players pop the net, 11 register points and seven produce two-point outings as they breezed to their fourth victory in seven matches (4-3-0).The Pacific Division club received an added boost with the return of forward Viktor Arvidsson, who missed 14 games with a lower-body injury and skated in just his fifth contest.Playing right wing on the third line with left winger Alex Laferriere and center Pierre-Luc Dubois, Arvidsson notched his first goal and added an assist on Anze Kopitar’s tally to wrap up the game’s scoring.”He’s a really good player, adds so much depth to our team,” Kings winger Trevor Moore said. “So good on the power play and you see him out there, he’s just a ball of energy and he’s huge for us.”Rittich notched his third shutout this season and pushed his mark to 11-5-3.Kopitar eclipsed the 1,200-point benchmark with a goal and an assist, becoming the 52nd player in NHL history to reach the milestone and only the second Kings player (Marcel Dionne, 1,307) to get there.The 36-year-old Kopitar is 107 points from passing Dionne as the organization’s all-time leading scorer and has two more years on his contract.In San Jose on Thursday night, Tampa Bay (38-25-6, 82 points) skated to a 1-1 tie through two periods against the NHL-worst Sharks before Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point took control in a three-goal third that resulted in a 4-1 victory.The win was the fifth consecutive one for coach Jon Cooper’s club, which turned the feat from Jan. 9 to Jan. 20 and is 8-2-1 in its past 11 matches as it tightens its grasp on the No. 1 wild-card position in the Eastern Conference.

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