The center missed six games with a quad injury sustained against the Nashville Predators on Feb. 8. The Oilers are 3-2-1 without McDavid, winless in their past two games (0-1-1) and one point behind the Vancouver Canucks for second in the Pacific Division, The Kings will play the second of a back to back at home after a 2-1 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. Los Angeles, which is last in the Western Conference, is 3-1-1 in its past five games after a five-game losing streak. Goalie Cal Petersen will start for the Kings after Jonathan Quick made 30 saves against the Avalanche.
Players to watch
Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has four points (two goals, two assists) in his past two games. Kings center Anze Kopitar has 53 points (15 goals, 38 assists) in 54 games against the Oilers.
They said it
"A little boost like that would be good for us right now. When you can add a player like that to your lineup, it just gives another whole dimension to our team." -- Oilers coach Dave Tippett on Connor McDavid "We can't rely on two or three guys. There are some teams in the League, when their top players are flying, they can win games alone. Ours are very good. They can score at that pace, but they need some help." -- Kings coach Todd McLellan
Neither the Oilers nor the Kings held a morning skate. … The Oilers assigned forward Colby Cave and defenseman Evan Bouchard to Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Saturday. … Carter, a forward, will miss his third straight game. He could return against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.
Stat pack
McDavid has six points (two goals, four assists) in three games against the Kings this season. … Draisaitl has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in his past seven games, including five multipoint games. … Doughty has five points (one goal, four assists) in three games against the Oilers.
