Preview: For the Kings, the show must go on in New York

How to Watch

Game Time: 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time

TV: Fox Sports West

Radio: iHeart Radio

The Opposition: Lighthouse Hockey

What to Watch

• While we’ve known versions of the Kings without Kyle Clifford — he’s spent his fair share of time out of the lineup with injuries or as a healthy scratch over the years — it’s going to be beyond bizarre to know tonight that he’s not going to be sitting just up in the press box or down in the locker room somewhere. Gotta be an eerie feeling.
• The Kings have got to find a way to bounce back from their late-game meltdown against the Capitals earlier this week. Sure, Jeff Carter found his mojo again, after me spending enough time critiquing him for being fairly invisible. But they let Alex Ovechkin take over the game, and you never want to let that happen. McLellan cited the team’s inability to close games out as an area of concern, which I think any onlooker would agree with.
• The Islanders are fighting to solidify a playoff spot in a crowded East. They’re currently holding down the first wild card spot in the east with 66 points, but the Philadelphia Flyers are hot on their heels. (The Toronto Maple Leafs, since this is relevant now, have 63 points.)
• Defense is still strong for the Islanders, but scoring has been a struggle at times. Their 2.88 goals per game average places them 20th in the league, but over their last 10 games, they’ve been scoring at a slightly higher rate. The Islanders have 34 goals over their last 10 games. While they’ve only got four wins in that time span, three of their losses came in overtime or the shootout, so they’re certainly doing their part to stay in games.
• The Islanders are led in scoring by Mat Barzal with 44 points. Brock Nelson leads goalscorers with 21 to date this season. /

Lineups

Los Angeles Kings

Alex Iafallo — Anze Kopitar — Dustin Brown
Carl Grundstrom — Jeff Carter — Tyler Toffoli
Adrian Kempe — Blake Lizotte — Austin Wagner
Nikolai Prokhorkin — Michael Amadio — Trevor Lewis

Alec Martinez — Drew Doughty
Ben Hutton — Matt Roy
Kurtis MacDermid — Sean Walker

Jonathan Quick

New York Islanders

Anders Lee — Mathew Barzal — Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier — Brock Nelson — Josh Bailey
Kieffer Bellows — Derick Brassard — Michael Dal Colle
Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Leo Komarov

Nick Leddy — Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews — Scott Mayfield
Noah Dobson — Johnny Boychuk

Thomas Greiss