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Game Time: 6:00 PM PST | 9:00 PM EST
Location: Pengrowth Saddledome | Calgary, AB
TV Broadcast: Away Team: No TV
Home Team: No TV
National TV: TSN
Radio Broadcast: 1150 AM; XM 209 Online broadcast: NHL Radio 
The Los Angeles Kings may own the NHL's worst record, but they also have one of the league's longest current winning streaks.
The Kings hope to match their season high with a fourth straight win Friday night as they continue a three-game road trip against the Calgary Flames.
While it hasn't been enough to get them out of last place in the league's overall standings, three straight wins has helped restore confidence for the Kings (18-27-2), who have 38 points, one behind Tampa Bay in the race to avoid the NHL's worst record.
Entering play Thursday night, only Anaheim (4) had a longer win streak than Los Angeles.
Generating offense hasn't been a problem for the Kings, who rank eighth in the NHL with 132 goals scored. Defense and goaltending have been their biggest concerns, but LaBarbera has been outstanding lately, going 3-0-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average in his last three starts.
He did, however, struggle in his only start this season against Calgary (23-17-8), allowing five goals on 26 shots in a 6-4 home loss on Jan. 5.
The Kings haven't won four consecutive road games since Dec. 6-21, 2005.
The Flames have won five straight against the Kings, including both meetings this season.
The Kings have a road record of 7-12-1, and their last 10 games is a record of 6-4.
The Flames have a home record of 10-8-7, and their last 10 games is a record of 6-3-1.
The Kings finish their Canadian Road Trip on Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks at General Motors Place.
"We stuck to trying to give up as little as we could and we got a good performance from our goalie,"
O'Sullivan said. "And when you get all that, you get a good chance to win."
"Tonight was a very strong game for us," coach
Marc Crawford said. "We did a great job, I thought, of hanging on to the puck and really challenging an Oiler D that's playing with a lot of confidence right now. I thought we back-checked really well."
Marc Crawford and Dustin Brown on Garon:
"Last year it was more about injuries with Mathieu than anything," said Kings head coach
Marc Crawford. "He had some great periods of play and unfortunately he got injured a couple of times. It was a frustrating season for him. Everybody knows Mathieu is a quality person, and we're happy to see the success that he's having."
"It doesn't surprise me one bit how well he's playing," said Kings winger
Dustin Brown. "In the lockout year he was unbelievable (in Manchester) and the year after the lockout he had 30 wins on a pretty sub-par team. The ability has always been there. Last year he was battling with some injuries, but he's a goalie that can keep you in the game making the save that he's not supposed to make, which is a big boost for the whole team."
"We wanted Mathieu to stay, but we respected the decision he made when he got to a free agency period,"
Crawford said. "He chose to go out and look for brighter pastures and obviously he's found a great home here in Edmonton."
Los Angeles Kings
Mike Cammalleri (Injured ribs on 12/26/07) IR
Kevin Dallman (Broken foot on 12/23/07) day-to-day
Brian Willsie (Sore lower back injury on 1/15/08) day-to-day
Calgary Flames
Eric Nystrom (Broken Jaw on 1/11/08) IR
10/18/07 - Kings @ Flames 4-3 (Flames win)
1/05/08 - Flames @ Kings 6-4 (Flames win)
Leading Scorers:
Forwards: 
Kopitar, LA - 44 points (18 G, 26 A, -10) |
Iginla, CGY - 62 points (30G, 32 A, +17) Defensemen: 
Visnovsky, LA - 27 points (5 G, 22 A, -15) |
Phaneuf, CGY - 31 points (6 G, 25 A, +2) GAA:
LA – 3.28 (29th in NHL)
CGY – 2.88 (23rd in NHL)
Avg. Goals:
LA – 2.81 (13th in NHL)
CGY – 2.83 (8th in NHL)
Power Play %:
LA – 20.8 (4th in NHL)
CGY – 17 (18th in NHL)
Penalty Kill %:
LA – 77.2 (29th in NHL)
CGY – 80 (24th in NHL)
(As of 1/17/08) **Standings for Thursday Night's games have been updated**
Pacific Division Standings:
1. Anaheim Ducks (26-17-6) 58 pts
2. Dallas Stars (26-18-5) 57 pts
3. San Jose Sharks (25-14-7) 57 pts
4. Phoenix Coyotes (24-21-1) 49 pts
5. Los Angeles Kings (18-27-2) 38 pts
Western Conference Standings:
1 Red Wings 72
2 Ducks 58
3 Wild 55
4 Stars 57
5 Sharks 57
6 Canucks 55
7 Flames 54
8 Avalanche 53
9 Blue Jackets 52
10 Blues 50
11 Coyotes 49
12 Predators 48
13 Oilers 47
14 Blackhawks 46
15 Kings 38
Key/Division Games Tonight:
Panthers @ Devils 4:00 PM PT | 7:00 PM EST
Oilers @ Hurricanes 4:00 PM PT | 7:00 PM ET
Thrashers @ Sabres 4:30 PM PT | 7:30 PM ET
Lightning @ Penguins 4:30 PM PT | 7:30 PM ET
Ducks @ Wild 5:00 PM PT | 8:00 PM ET
Blackhawks @ Avalanche 5:00 PM PT | 8:00 PM ET
***GDT - Los Angeles Kings @ Calgary Flames - 1/18/08*** 
WingHater
