Game Primer: Islanders Face Kings, Led By Former Assistant Coach Jim Hiller

With two wins in the Golden State in the books, the New York Islanders (29-20-14) play their final Western Conference road game of the season against the Los Angeles Kings (32-20-11). 

Puck drop from Crypto.com Arena is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. 

The Islanders bested the Kings in their first matchup this season on Dec. 9 at UBS Arena. The Kings jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second period of play, but Anders Lee scored twice to get the Islanders even in the third. The ensuing overtime lasted only 13 seconds, as Jean-Gabriel Pageau finished a breakaway, giving the Islanders a 3-2 win and snapping the Kings' historic 11-game winning streak on the road. 

After a 20-7-4 start, Los Angles went 3-8-6 in their following 17 games, resulting in head coach Todd McLellan being fired. 

Former Islanders assistant coach Jim Hiller assumed interim coaching duties on Feb. 2 and has a 9-5-1 record as Kings bench boss. 

"Jimmy's a good guy, who loves the game," Cal Clutterbuck said. "He's got a good mind for hockey. And he's just a fun guy to be around. That coupled with his passion and hockey knowledge, they got a pretty good one."

Hiller worked with the Islanders power play and Noah Dobson said he learned a lot from him.

"I got a lot of respect for Jimmy as a coach. I thought he was great. Coming in, my first couple years, he really helped me a lot, working with the defenseman. So, I'm happy to see him get the job here in LA and I got a lot of respect for him as a coach and what he did for me."

The Kings dropped their last game against the Dallas Stars on Saturday. Kevin Fiala opened the scoring 26 seconds into the game, but that was the only time the Kings found the back of the net. Radek Faksa and David Robertson lit the lamp in the second period, while Wyatt Johnston and Joe Pavelski added insurance in the third, helping Dallas to a 4-1 win. 

Ilya Sorokin will make his 46th start of the season on Monday (22-13-11, 3.01 GAA, .910 SV%). He last started on Thursday against the San Jose Sharks, making 23 saves on 25 shots. Against the Kings, he is 1-2-0 with a 3.05 GAA and .905%, last making 33 saves in a winning effort in their last meeting. 

Mathew Barzal had a pair of assists against the Ducks, giving him a seven-game point streak with three goals and six assists in that span.

Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist in Sunday's game, extending his point streak to five games, boasting four goals and six assists in that span.

Pageau's overtime winner gave him goals in three straight games against the Kings. 

After his two-goal game against the Kings in December, Lee leads the Islanders in goals against Los Angeles with 10. Bo Horvat leads in the remaining offensive categories with 13 assists and 18 points.

Cam Talbot will be in net for the Kings on Monday, starting his 40th game of the season (19-15-6, 2.47 GAA, .916 SV%). 

He started Saturday's game against Dallas, making 31 saves in the loss. Against the Islanders, he is 8-3-1 with a 2.52 GAA and .922 SV% in 14 games, most recently taking a loss in their last meeting with three goals on 30 shots. 

Kevin Fiala has been hot for the Kings as of late, totaling four goals and four assists over his last five games. He also leads the team in assists and points this season with 36 and 57, respectively. He also tallied a pair of helpers against the Islanders in December.

Phillip Danault tallied an assist in his last matchup with the Islanders, extending his point streak against them to four games; the center has two goals and two assists in that span. 

Despite being kept off the board in their last meeting, Anze Kopitar tops the Kings across the board in active scoring against New York. The longtime forward has nine goals and 13 assists, 22 points, in 26 career matchups with the Islanders. 

Brock Nelson - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal

Anders Lee - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Kyle Palmieri

Pierre Engvall - Casey Cizikas - Simon Holmstrom

Matt Martin - Kyle MacLean - Cal Clutterbuck

Alexander Romanov - Ryan Pulock

Adam Pelech - Noah Dobson

Mike Reilly - Sebastian Aho

Ilya Sorokin

Semyon Varlamov

Quinton Byfield - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe

Kevin Fiala - Phillip Danault - Trevor Moore

Alex Laferriere - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Blake Lizotte 

Arthur Kaliyev - Alex Turcotte - Trevor Lewis 

Jacob Moverare - Drew Doughty 

Vladislav Gavrikov - Matt Roy 

Andreas Englund - Jordan Spence

Cam Talbot 

David Rittich 

Monday's game will air on MSGSN. On the radio, the Islanders-Kings game is available on 88.7 FM WRHU, 98.7 ESPN and 103.9 LI News Radio.