San Jose Sharks (10-16-5, seventh in the Pacific Division) vs. Los Angeles Kings (15-12-5, second in the Pacific Division)
Los Angeles; Saturday, 10:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Kings host the San Jose Sharks after Adrian Kempe’s two-goal game against the Boston Bruins in the Kings’ 3-2 shootout win.
Los Angeles has a 2-4-2 record in Pacific Division games and a 15-12-5 record overall. The Kings have a 7-3-1 record when they commit fewer penalties than their opponent.
San Jose has a 10-16-5 record overall and a 2-3-4 record in Pacific Division games. The Sharks have a 4-5-2 record in games decided by one goal.
The matchup Saturday is the sixth meeting between these teams this season. The Kings won 5-2 in the previous meeting. Kempe led the Kings with two goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Gabriel Vilardi has 13 goals and six assists for the Kings. Anze Kopitar has scored six goals with five assists over the past 10 games.
Tomas Hertl has 10 goals and 20 assists for the Sharks. Erik Karlsson has one goal and eight assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Kings: 4-3-3, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.5 assists, 3.9 penalties and 8.3 penalty minutes while giving up 4.2 goals per game.
Sharks: 3-5-2, averaging 3.4 goals, 6.1 assists, 4.2 penalties and 9.3 penalty minutes while giving up 3.6 goals per game.
INJURIES: Kings: Brendan Lemieux: out (lower-body), Viktor Arvidsson: out (personal).
Sharks: Markus Nutivaara: out (lower body), Nikolai Knyzhov: out (achilles), Luke Kunin: day to day (undisclosed), Mario Ferraro: out (foot), James Reimer: out (lower-body), Matt Nieto: out (undisclosed).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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