Los Angeles Kings take on Edmonton Oilers live on Thursday night in NHL action at 9:30 PM ET.
The Los Angeles Kings are the reigning Stanley Cup champions, but the lockout-shortened 2013 season has not gotten off to the best start for the team.
The team has started off with two straight losses and is looking to avoid dropping their first three games of the season for the first time since the 1985 season.
One thing the Kings will be looking forward to is the return to form of center Anze Kopitar, who has been dealing with a knee injury. The center came back for the Kings' 5-2 loss against Chicago on Saturday and has been the leading scorer on the roster during the past five seasons.
"The knee feels good. I didn't have any problems with it," Kopitar told the Kings' official website. "I pretty much forgot I was wearing (a brace) out there."
Kopitar played in Sweden during the lockout and returns after scoring a team-high 25 goals and 51 assists during the 2012 campaign. Last year, Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Justin Williams combined to score 69 goals, but so far this season, Brown and Williams have yet to score a point.
"The line had a really tough night," coach Darryl Sutter said. "It was Kopie's first game, but the other two have had two tough games in a row."
Kyle Clifford is leading the team in points with three, while the Kings as a while are ranked 27th in goals per game. The team hasn't been able to convert on power plays yet this year and is tied for last in the league with zero goals.
The Oilers are off to a slightly better start than the Kings, splitting their first two games, including a 3-2 shootout win over Vancouver on Sunday in the opener. The team followed up with a dominating 6-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, but hope to rebound against Los Angeles.
Edmonton allowed two quick goals in the first five minutes, but could not catch up. Another issue for the team has been with power plays, as three of the six first period goals allowed by the Oilers against the Sharks were while Edmonton was shorthanded.
"That was as bad a first period as we could have had, even in your worst imagination," coach Ralph Krueger said. "If pain is going to make us a better team, that was a lot of pain right there.
One thing Edmonton can be excited about is 19-year-old rookie Nail Yakupov, who was drafted first overall last summer by the Oilers. Yakupov got the Oilers on the board against the Sharks and has looked fast and agile in the first two games.
Last season the two teams split the four meetings, although the Kings struggled, as Kopitar, Brown and Williams only scored two goals between the three of them. The Kings next travel to Phoenix to play the Coyotes, while on Saturday the Oilers will face off against their Canadian rivals, the Calgary Flames.
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