National Hockey League
Preview
Ottawa at Los Angeles
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 30, 2024
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

The Ottawa Senators will try to win three games in a row for the first time this season when they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

The Senators should be plenty rested. They've been in the Los Angeles area for a few days after opening their three-game California swing with a 4-3 win against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.

The Senators took Thursday off and went through a spirited practice on Friday.

"It's about getting the body moving again," Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot said. "Days off are so big with the amount of games we play in such a short period of time. Everybody's in a good mood coming back (Friday)."

Several players have led Ottawa, but the most surprising has been Adam Gaudette, who scored two goals against the Sharks to give him 11 goals in 21 games this season.

The most goals he's ever scored in a season during his NHL career is 12 in 59 games with the Vancouver Canucks in 2019-20 -- his second full season in the NHL.

"I'm just playing hockey, just doing my thing out there," Gaudette said. "(I'm) playing with some great players out there, and I couldn't do it without the guys on the ice, so I owe a lot to them."

Gaudette has earned a spot on the top line with Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle, who also have seen their offensive numbers climb of late.

Tkachuk had two assists against San Jose to give him five points (two goals, three assists) in his past three games, and Stutzle is riding a five-game point streak (two goals, five assists).

"I just try to find him. I know he's a goal scorer," Stutzle said of Gaudette. "He had a couple of good looks (against the Sharks), and he could have scored more than two."

The Kings are coming off a 2-1 win at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Erik Portillo made his NHL debut in goal for Los Angeles and made 28 saves to steal most of the headlines.

The Kings finally won back-to-back games after alternating wins and losses for five games.

"We've kind of been treading water a little bit," Kings coach Jim Hiller said. "We really want to start stretching some wins together."

Alex Laferriere had a goal and an assist against Anaheim to give him back-to-back multipoint games, and fellow forward Alex Turcotte scored against the Ducks to give him three points (one goal, two assists) in his past four games.

Turcotte did not have a shot on goal in the previous two games, so he didn't hesitate to shoot the puck at the end of a 2-on-1 rush against Anaheim. Turcotte said the coaching staff has encouraged him to shoot the puck more.

"I'm trying to do all the little things out there and make plays, but I've still got to get the puck on net sometimes and be a little bit selfish," he said. "I'm happy I got the opportunity (against the Ducks)."

Los Angeles defenseman Brandt Clarke comes in on a three-game point streak (one goal, two assists).

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Day Night Div
Ottawa 10-11-1-0 W2 6-5-1-0 4-6-0-0 2-1-0-0 8-10-1-0 4-2-0-0
Los Angeles 13-8-2-1 W2 7-2-0-1 6-6-2-0 5-0-2-1 8-8-0-0 5-5-0-0
Last Meeting
Ottawa Los Angeles
Date Away Home Shots Saves PP Shots Saves PP
10/14/24 LA 7 OTT 8 (OT) 41 19 4-6 26 33 3-5
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Total Points Player  
Ottawa D. Batherson 3
Los Angeles B. Clarke 3
Goals Player  
Ottawa Z. MacEwen 2
Los Angeles K. Fiala 2
Assists Player  
Ottawa T. Stutzle 3
Los Angeles B. Clarke 3
Saves Player  
Ottawa M. Sogaard 13
Los Angeles D. Kuemper 33
Season
Total Points Player  
Ottawa T. Stutzle 29
Los Angeles A. Kopitar 30
Goals Player  
Ottawa A. Gaudette 15
Los Angeles A. Laferriere 13
Assists Player  
Ottawa T. Stutzle 19
Los Angeles A. Kopitar 22
Saves Player  
Ottawa L. Ullmark 391
Los Angeles D. Kuemper 281
Quickchart Matchup
Ottawa Off vs  Los Angeles Def
3.18 GF
2.71 GA
31.3 Shots
24.2 Shots
22 PP
17 PK
Los Angeles Off vs  Ottawa Def
2.96 GF
3.23 GA
28.2 Shots
27.5 Shots
11 PP
15 PK