Kings at Lightning preview

KINGS (23-32-6) at LIGHTNING (47-11-4)
7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN1, SNE, SNO, NHL.TV

A victory would tie the Tampa Bay record for consecutive wins, set from Feb. 18-March 5, 2016. The Lightning also can become the fourth team in NHL history to reach 100 points in 63 games or fewer, joining the 1976-77 and 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens and the 1971-72 Boston Bruins.
Tampa Bay has outscored its opponents 36-13 during its winning streak. Forward Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL with 100 points (30 goals, 70 assists).
Los Angeles has lost seven straight (0-5-2) and has been outscored 29-17 during that stretch.

Players to Watch

Kings center Anze Kopitar has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in his past 13 games.
Lightning center Brayden Point has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his past seven games.

They said it

"The guys are waiting for 3 p.m. and once that's over they'll start looking ahead to the game. It's a tough time for the guys. All the guys are preparing like they are going to play but it's a challenge for sure." -- Kings coach Willie Desjardins on the players' mentality before the NHL Trade Deadline.
"We aren't looking at the standings. We expect them to be a hungry team and they're going to fight and try to get in a position to win. We expect their best tonight." -- Lightning forward J.T. Miller

Kings projected lineup

Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Dustin Brown
Ilya Kovalchuk -- Jeff Carter -- Tyler Toffoli
Brendan Leipsic -- Adrian Kempe -- Jonny Brodzinski
Kyle Clifford -- Trevor Lewis -- Austin Wagner
Derek Forbort -- Drew Doughty
Paul LaDue --
Matt Roy
Dion Phaneuf --
Sean Walker
Jack Campbell
Jonathan Quick
Scratched:Jonny Brodzinski
Injured:Alec Martinez (upper body)

Lightning projected lineup

Ondrej Palat -- Steven Stamkos -- J.T. Miller
Tyler Johnson -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn -- Anthony Cirelli -- Yanni Gourde
Adam Erne -- Cedric Paquette -- Mathieu Joseph
Victor Hedman -- Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak
Braydon Coburn -- Anton Stralman
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue
Scratched:Ryan Callahan, Mikhail Sergachev, Danick Martel
Injured:None

Status report

Each team held an optional morning skate. …Desjardins said Brodzinski, who has not played this season because of a shoulder injury, will be available for the lineup. LaDue is expected to dress after the Kings traded defenseman Oscar Fantenberg to the Calgary Flames shortly before the NHL Trade Deadline.

Stat pack

Toffoli is scoreless in his past five games after he had seven points (four goals, three assists) in the previous five. … Vasilevskiy is 7-0-2 with a .958 save percentage and three shutouts in his past nine starts. …Kucherov has 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in his past seven games. …Johnson needs one point for 300 in the NHL.