Los Angeles @ Vegas preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 8, 2018 ) Vegas 1, Los Angeles 5

The Vegas Golden Knights continue to spin their wheels as far as wins and losses go but keep getting rewarded for their setbacks as they host the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. Vegas had its six-game home winning streak snapped after dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to Montreal on Saturday, but is a solid 4-1-2 in its last seven contests overall.

Los Angeles, which has the fewest points in the league, has won consecutive games for third time this season with Saturday's 3-2 overtime victory in San Jose. The Kings were bolstered by the return of Ilya Kovalchuk, who scored twice - including the winner - in his first game since missing 10 with an ankle injury. Los Angeles exacted a tiny measure of revenge with a 5-1 victory in Las Vegas on Dec. 8 after the Golden Knights swept them 4-0 in the first round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs - all one-goal games. That offensive explosion tied a season high for the Kings, who are last in the league in scoring at 2.25 goals per game.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Las Vegas)

ABOUT THE KINGS (13-20-3): The club does not have a player with a double-digit goal total as Dustin Brown's nine lead the way followed by Anze Kopitar (team-high 22 points) and Alex Iafallo with eight apiece. Kovalchuk has seven of his 424 career goals this season - his first back in the NHL after playing five years in the Kontinental Hockey League. Defenseman Dion Phaneuf (team-worst minus-17) was placed on injured reserve Saturday, retroactive to Dec. 11 when he suffered an upper-body injury versus Buffalo.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (20-15-3): Brandon Pirri, who led the AHL with 41 points upon his call-up from the Chicago Wolves, scored twice versus Montreal and has three goals in two games since replacing the injured Max Pacioretty (lower body). William Karlsson (club-most 29 points) had two assists Saturday, giving him seven points (five goals) in his last seven games. Malcolm Subban (0-5-0, 3.48 goals-against average, .881 save percentage in six games) will likely get the start in goal Sunday with Marc-Andre Fleury starting the last two games, including Thursday's 4-2 victory over the New York Islanders.

OVERTIME

1. Los Angeles is 1-2-1 in the second of back-to-back games this season while Vegas is 2-4-0.

2. The Kings were 25th in the league on the power play (14.7 percent) after scoring on their only chance Saturday, making them 2-for-15 in their last six games, and 29th in penalty killing (75.0).

3. The Golden Knights are 17-2-0 on Sunday - playoffs included - in club history while Los Angeles is 4-0 on Sundays this season.

PREDICTION: Golden Knights 3, Kings 2