The Los Angeles Kings are hoping that being back on home ice will help them return to their winning ways.
After playing 10 of their last 12 games on the road, the Kings will kick off a six-game homestand against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.
Los Angeles went 2-3-0 on their first five-game road trip last month, then came home for two games, and went 1-3-1 on their second five-game road swing. They did manage to pick up a win in their final game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
“We stopped this stretch (in Carolina) because we kept our recipe,” Kings forward Phillip Danault said. “We kept working hard, playing our game and it worked out.”
The Kings are holding onto third place in the Pacific Division, just one point ahead of the Calgary Flames.
Before their Jan. 11 matchup in Calgary, the Kings had an eight-point lead over the Flames, but Calgary won 2-1 and has been closing in on Los Angeles since.
“Right now, we just have to believe in ourselves, believe in the team,” Kings forward Kevin Fiala said.
The Kings may be without defenseman Mikey Anderson, who is still day-to-day after injuring his finger last week.
“Whatever he’s got, it’s going to have to heal through treatments and relatively naturally, which is a positive,” said Kings coach Jim Hiller.
Drew Doughty, who recently returned from a broken ankle suffered in the preseason, has played three games since coming back. He feels healthy enough to possibly replace the injured Alex Pietrangelo at the 4 Nations tournament later this month.
“I know I’m in the group of guys they’re looking at and I told them I want to be there,” Doughty said. “I’m hoping I’m going to keep improving. We’ve got a couple more games, hopefully to watch me and see that I deserve that spot.”
The Kings will face a tired Montreal team that ended a five-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.
Jakub Dobes is expected to start in goal after Sam Montembeault made 27 saves in the win against the Sharks.
Dobes won his first five career starts but has lost his last two, including a 4-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild last Thursday, where he allowed three goals on 26 shots.
The rookie goalie faced future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury in that game and shared a brief conversation with him in the handshake line.
“We had a good little conversation, but I’m going to keep it for myself,” Dobes said. “He just said work hard. It was kind of hard to hear. I don’t want to say everything. I don’t want to create much buzz and anything. Some things that you keep to yourself and it was a good conversation.”
Dobes later mentioned that Fleury congratulated him on the start to his career.
“I didn’t even know what to say. I wasn’t expecting it. So I was just like: ‘Oh, thanks.’” Dobes said. “It shows you how much of a good human being and a good teammate he is that he takes his time to say something to a guy who started a month ago.”
