Kings hope to continue strong trip against Islanders

Having initiated their road trip by earning three out of a possible four points, the Kings will finish the first half of the journey and their swing through the three New York-area venues with the first visit in franchise history to the Islanders’ brand new UBS Arena.

Both matches thus far have involved a rally from a 2-1 deficit, with the Kings coming back against the Devils on Sunday and then failing to protect a lead before falling in the shootout at Madison Square Garden on Monday. The Kings’ penalty kill surrendered a goal in each game.

Monday, the Kings ceded a power-play goal late in the first period and gave up the third period’s only score before withstanding a late push from the Rangers that included a power play to end regulation and a 5-2 shot advantage in overtime.

“The resilience at the end of the game was a carryover from the resilience going into the second period. To get scored on with a second left, we felt … really good about our play at that point,” Kings coach Todd McLellan told reporters. “It could have went the other way, but we slugged it out with them, penalty killed well and found a way to get the next one.”

McLellan concluded his remark by pining for the finesse and precision that have eluded the Kings well before his arrival, arguably since the decline of former winger Marian Gaborik’s play in 2015-16.

“If we had any natural touch in and around the net we probably would have had another one or two,” McLellan said, echoing comments he made about his team’s lack of touch and finishing ability against Colorado in a 4-1 loss last Thursday.

The Kings have had some consistent offensive performers of late. Winger Alex Iafallo has recorded a point in each of his last four games and seven points in as many games. Wingers Viktor Arvidsson and Trevor Moore have combined for 24 points in 11 January games.

Team captain Anze Kopitar said he felt the team had played even better than its markedly improved record (21-16-6) and that it needed to work on “putting all the pieces together to win.” The Kings had won four games in a row and then dropped three straight before heading East.

”In the grand scheme of things though, if we can get three out of four on the rest of the trip, it’s going to be a pretty good trip,” Kopitar told reporters.

Under the guidance of Barry Trotz, who came to New York right after winning a Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals, the Islanders have won at least one playoff series in each of the past three seasons. In their last two campaigns, they have reached the conference finals, falling both times to the eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning. This season, however, making the playoffs will be an uphill climb.

So, too was their course to their new home, which was fraught with obstacles and delays in both the near and long terms. Years of turbulence between two different ownership groups and municipal authorities led the Islanders on a sinewy path. They left the old Nassau Coliseum, where they won four straight Stanley Cups in the ‘80s, for the obstructed views and limited attendance of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Then they split their schedule between the two venues before ultimately returning to the Coliseum while the new venue was under construction.

This season, they were to move into their new, permanent home. However the arena was not ready for the start of the season, and the Islanders were forced to play the longest uninterrupted stretch of road games to start a campaign in NHL history, 13 games, of which they won five.

The tail end of that trip produced the first four losses in an 11-game winless streak, putting the Islanders behind the eightball early. They have won eight of their last 11 games, 10 of which were played at home, to bring their points percentage above .500 at 15-14-6. They were still separated from the playoff pack by 14 points entering Wednesday’s games. One of those eight victories came against the West’s worst team, the Arizona Coyotes, and three were over the NHL’s coldest team, the reeling Philadelphia Flyers, whom the Kings will visit on Saturday.

Center Mathew Barzal leads the Islanders in scoring and goalie Ilya Sorokin, 26, has taken over the starting role, having started 24 games and won 12 while veteran Simyon Varlamov has just three victories in 11 starts.

KINGS AT NEW YORK ISLANDERS

When: Thursday, 4 p.m.

Where: UBS Arena

TV/Radio: Bally Sports West and ESPN+ / iHeartRadio