Probably due to the new arena opening late...
The Devils have two back-to-back
home games this season! Quite odd.
Friday Night: Feb 1, they lost to the Rangers 3-1.
Saturday Night: Feb 2, they host the Kings.
Next Friday Night: Feb 8, they host the Ducks.
Next Saturday Night: Feb 9, they host the Hurricanes.
@ 
Game Time: 4:00 PM PST | 7:00 PM EST
Location: Prudential Center | Newark, NJ
TV Broadcast: Away Team: FSN-W
Home Team: FSN-NY (HD)
Radio Broadcast: 1150 AM; XM 205 Online broadcast: NHL Radio Internet Stream: Must use Sopcast 
The Los Angeles Kings are off to a modest start on their eight-game road trip, but for the team with the worst record in the league, it's a step in the right direction.
The Kings look to pick up another point on the road Saturday when they visit the slumping Devils in their first trip to New Jersey in four years.
After falling to Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday in its first game after the All-Star break, Los Angeles (21-29-3) defeated the New York Islanders 3-1 on Thursday.
The Kings have a NHL-low 45 points, and are 13 points out of the Western Conference's final playoff spot. They've been playing much better lately, though, going 6-2-1 since Jan. 10. They are also 5-1-1 on the road since starting the season 4-12-1 away from Los Angeles.
Los Angeles defeated the Devils 3-2 in a shootout at Staples Center on Nov. 27, 2006, the teams' only meeting last season. The Kings have not visited New Jersey since a 3-2 overtime loss on Feb. 15, 2004.
The Devils (28-20-3) fell 3-1 to the New York Islanders on Friday, dropping their third straight for the first time since a season-high four-game skid Oct. 18-27.
New Jersey has lost five of its last seven games, with all of those defeats coming on home ice. The Devils have scored just eight goals in those losses.
The Devils, who led the Atlantic on Jan. 12, have fallen into third in the division, two points back of first-place Philadelphia.
Martin Brodeur, who had 23 saves against the Rangers, is just 2-5-0 with a 2.75 GAA since Jan. 16. However, Brodeur is 7-4-1 with a 1.89 GAA and one shutout lifetime against the Kings.
The Kings have a road record of 9-13-2, and their last 10 games is a record of 6-3-1.
The Devils have a home record of 14-10-0, and their last 10 games is a record of 5-5.
The Kings will continue their road trip on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden against Sean Avery... and the New York Rangers.
"Three points for us is a lot,"
Rob Blake said. "We understood the challenge at hand here coming on this type of a trip after the break. We had a good effort in Philly, and tonight we got the job done."
"You can't really look at the big picture,"
Jason LaBarbera said. "It's probably good for us to get out here and see something different and get away from the stuff we've seen a lot of this year. We've played well the first two games on this trip and hopefully we can just keep doing what we're doing."
"We know there is some sickness on that team right now and they battled like crazy," Kings coach
Marc Crawford said. "We were really good tonight. We didn't give up much."
Marc Crawford on Blake and Thornton's injuries, along with Boyle call-up comments:
"It's probably very similar to Brad Stuart. Stuart was kind of the same way though his wasn't broken, it was a deep bruise. We kept doing the same thing with Brad in getting it re-X-rayed. We got Rob re-X-rayed a couple times and nothing showed up. It's not uncommon that a couple weeks later something shows up. He told me after the Islanders game that it wasn't getting better, so we got him another MRI and then it showed up. On the positive side, these things are very treatable and usually take two weeks. He should be back when we come up to L.A. hopefully.''
"Thornton is out tonight with a bad neck. He didn't think it was that serious but today he's really sore. He'll probably miss just tonight's game. Give him three days off and he'll probably be ready for the Rangers game. The injuries are starting to mount up but everyone's dealing with these type of situations. The positive side is it gives us a chance to look at a couple people.''
"Coming in the fourth line for Thorty for a game will be good. It's nice to see him. He's scored over 20 goals in the minor leagues this year. He had an experiment on defense, and I think that helped him on overall awareness. It's good for him to see what the defense has to deal with. As a big centermen, you have to play well in those low positions down in the zone. When you're a good player, you've got to show NHL coaches and even AHL coaches that you're not going to hurt them before you show them how much you can help them. You've got to show us your defense before you get the chance to show us your offense. It was good for him. Now he'll get the opportunity to show us. Well, hopefully he'll be here the longest."
Los Angeles Kings
Rob Blake (Left ankle fracture on 2/2/08) IR
Mike Cammalleri (Injured ribs on 12/26/07) IR
Ladislav Nagy (Sore neck on 1/19/08) day-to-day
Scott Thornton (Sore neck on 2/2/08) day-to-day
New Jersey Devils
Jay Pandolfo (Pelvic/abdomen injury on 11/28/07) IR
***No Recent Meetings***
Here are the results from PAST meetings:
11/27/06 - Devils @ Kings 3-2 (Kings win in Shootout)
2/15/04 - Kings @ Devils 3-2 (Devils win in OT)
Leading Scorers:
Forwards: 
Kopitar, LA - 48 points (20 G, 28 A, -13) | Parise, NJD - 44 points (18G, 26 A, +8)
Defensemen: 
Visnovsky, LA - 29 points (5 G, 24 A, -17) | Martin, NJD - 20 points (3 G, 17 A, +7)
GAA:
LA – 3.23 (28th in NHL)
NJD – 2.36 (3rd in NHL)
Avg. Goals:
LA – 2.74 (15th in NHL)
NJD – 2.46 (24th in NHL)
Power Play %:
LA – 19.4 (5th in NHL)
NJD – 16.7 (20th in NHL)
Penalty Kill %:
LA – 78.6 (29th in NHL)
NJD – 83.0 (12th in NHL)
(As of 2/1/08)
Pacific Division Standings:
1. Dallas Stars (30-20-5) 65 pts
2. San Jose Sharks (28-16-7) 63 pts
3. Anaheim Ducks (27-21-7) 61 pts
4. Phoenix Coyotes (27-22-2) 56 pts
5. Los Angeles Kings (21-29-3) 45 pts
Western Conference Standings:
1 Red Wings 82
2 Stars 65
3 Wild 61
4 Sharks 63
5 Ducks 61
6 Flames 60
7 Avalanche 58
8 Canucks 58
9 Predators 57
10 Coyotes 56
11 Blue Jackets 56
12 Blues 55
13 Oilers 51
14 Blackhawks 50
15 Kings 45
Key/Division Games Tonight:
Islanders @ Canadiens 11:00 AM PT | 2:00 PM EST
Blackhawks @ Sharks 2:00 PM PT | 5:00 PM ET
Red Wings @ Bruins 4:00 PM PT | 7:00 PM ET
Senators @ Maple Leafs 4:00 PM PT | 7:00 PM ET
Ducks @ Flyers 4:00 PM PT | 7:00 PM ET
Thrashers @ Capitals 4:00 PM PT | 7:00 PM ET
Wild @ Blue Jackets 4:00 PM PT | 7:00 PM ET
Hurricanes @ Penguins 4:30 PM PT | 7:30 PM ET
Panthers @ Lightning 4:30 PM PT | 7:30 PM ET
Coyotes @ Predators 5:00 PM PT | 8:00 PM ET
Avalanche @ Blues 5:30 PM PT | 8:30 PM ET
Stars @ Flames 7:00 PM PT | 10:00 PM ET