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Hurricanes-Kings Preview

Oct 20, 2010 - 6:16 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Carolina (3-2-0) at Los Angeles (3-1-0), 10:30 p.m. EDT

The Los Angeles Kings are off to a strong start in 2010-11, and Jonathan Quick is already playing a vital role.

He should be in goal to try and continue his best start to a season when the Kings host the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.

Los Angeles (3-1-0) is trying to conclude a three-game homestand unbeaten, and will likely need another solid effort from Quick to do so.

Quick has won all three of his games with a 0.97 goals-against average. It's the best start to a season for a Kings' netminder since Jason LaBarbera won his first five games in 2005-06.

That was also the last time Los Angeles opened its home schedule with a three-game winning streak.

Quick, who set a franchise-record with 39 wins while posting a 2.54 GAA last season, will likely play a hand in matching that feat in his first game against Carolina (3-2-0).

He made 25 saves and Dustin Brown scored twice Friday in a 4-1 win over Vancouver in a rematch of last spring's first-round playoff series which saw the Kings eliminated in six games.

"It feels good, but we're hopefully going on to bigger and better things than the first round of the playoffs," said Brown, who has a team-high three goals.

Success at Staples Center could be important for the Kings, who haven't won a division title since 1990-91. They went 22-13-6 at home last season, ranking 11th in the Western Conference.

Ryan Smyth has also come up big in the first two games of the homestand, getting two assists against the Canucks after scoring twice and setting up another in a 3-1 win over Atlanta on Oct. 12.

The left wing had a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win at Carolina on Nov. 11, and another big effort could give the Kings momentum heading into a five-game road trip that starts Thursday in Phoenix.

Carolina, 1-2-0 on a five-game trip after sweeping two games from Minnesota in Finland nearly two weeks ago, is looking to build on its best offensive performance of the young season, beating San Jose 5-2 on Tuesday.

Cam Ward matched his season high with 41 saves and five players scored one goal each.

"We did things a lot better than our last time out," coach Paul Maurice said. "We kept the puck moving forward and when we did have a breakdown we got great goaltending."

It's unclear if Maurice will rest Ward in favor of Justin Peters. Ward, who has started all five games with a 2.77 GAA, also owns a 2.44 GAA while splitting two meetings with the Kings, but hasn't faced them since losing 4-3 in overtime at Los Angeles on Oct. 17, 2008.

Peters went 6-3-0 with a 2.83 GAA in nine games as a rookie last season.

Eric Staal is trying to show some offensive consistency. The center has two goals and two assists through five games, but has been held scoreless in three contests.

Staal, who needs two goals to pass Geoff Sanderson (196) for fifth in franchise history, has just two assists in two career games in Los Angeles.