Going for history

The Kings face a daunting task tonight…not only back-to-back games, not only a 5 p.m. local time start, but a game against a rested New Jersey team that sits second in the Eastern Conference and has allowed the fewest goals in the NHL this season.

Should the Kings come away with a win, they would have their first 5-0 road trip in franchise history, their first six-game winning streak since March 11-23, 2002, and they would also push their road winning streak to seven games. The franchise record is eight games, set from Dec. 18, 1974-Jan. 16, 1975. So yeah, it would be a pretty big win, Terry Murray said this morning.

MURRAY: “At this time of the year, it would be remarkable. This is a desperate time for a lot of the teams that we have played. You start off in Detroit, and moving through Toronto. That’s a hard team, desperate to get something going for themselves. Then you look at Columbus. My God, there’s an urgency there for them to get their game back on track the way they were last year, a playoff team last year. So, boy, it speaks a lot of what this team is starting to show, as far as character and playing for your teammates. Remarkable stuff. I’m very proud of these guys, the way they’ve come through this trip and played hard for each other.”

What is perhaps even more remarkable is that the Kings are 4-0 on this trip and, yet, arguably haven’t played a strong 60-minute game yet. Of course, in the parity of today’s NHL, it’s not easy for one team to dominate another for 60 minutes. If anything, it speaks to the raised level of expectations for the Kings, that they can be on a five-game winning streak and still talk about playing better.

MURRAY: “After the Detroit game, I’m looking for us to bounce back to that same level again. We have been off our game, to what I expect. If we can bounce back here with that solid team effort tonight, that would be a very good thing to take home with us.”