LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 16: Anze Kopitar #11 of the Los Angeles Kings celebrates after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins on January 16, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Noah Graham/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Anze Kopitar (2010 NHLI)
The Kings flew back to Los Angeles on Tuesday night after completing a 4-0-0 road trip with a 4-2 victory at Nashville. Their next task is to continue that success now that they're home again.
L.A. starts a five-game homestand by hosting St. Louis at 10:30 p.m. ET in one of 11 games on a busy Thursday night schedule in the NHL. But while they Kings have won five in a row on the road, they dropped their last two home games before the trip -- and they're just 12-11-2 at the Staples Center after winning their first eight at home.
Thursday's action starts with a pair of games at 7 p.m. ET. Atlanta, which rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win 5-4 in overtime at Philadelphia, hosts the Flyers in a rematch. The Thrashers are back home after a 4-2 loss at New Jersey on Tuesday, the same night the Flyers opened a three-game trip with a 3-2 win at Florida. Also at 7, Central Division-leading Detroit visits Columbus, a 3-2 shootout loser to Boston on Tuesday.
Three more games face off at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tampa Bay continues its swing through Eastern Canada with a stop in Montreal, where the Canadiens will try to bounce back from Tuesday's 4-2 loss to Washington. Tampa Bay had two days off after a 6-2 win at Toronto on Monday. The game will be shown in Canada on RDS. Also, New Jersey tries to extend its second-half surge when it visits Ottawa, a 5-1 loser at home to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, and Toronto visits Florida.
Boston continues a road trip with a rare visit to Nashville for a game that starts at 8 p.m. ET. A half-hour later, Chicago is at Dallas, trying to build on Monday's 6-3 win against San Jose. The Stars lost 6-3 to the Sharks at home on Tuesday.
Both Alberta teams are home for 9 p.m. ET starts. Phoenix, a 4-3 winner at Calgary on Tuesday, moves on to Edmonton, while the Flames try to snap a three-game losing streak when Colorado comes to the Scotiabank Saddledome.
In addition to the Blues-Kings game, Minnesota and San Jose also play at 10:30. The Sharks are back home after splitting two road games; the Wild is trying to avoid going 0-for-4 on their road trip after losing 4-2 at Vancouver on Monday.
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