Islanders vs. Kings preview: Isles not underestimating cellar-dwelling LA

These are not the Kings that won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014.

But that does not matter to the Islanders, who conclude a three-game Brooklyn homestand against the Western Conference cellar dwellers at Barclays Center on Thursday night.

“You understand where they are in the standings and where we are and the difference,” Jordan Eberle said. “But the NHL is such a good league. Any team can beat any team on any night. You’ve got to bring your best. These teams, especially late in the year, have a tendency to frustrate a lot of teams. They’ve got a lot of skill over there and they’ve still got a lot of guys who have won. They’re a dangerous team.”

The Islanders are on a 2-0-2 run after Tuesday night’s 4-3 overtime win over the Stars. They entered Thursday in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the idle Blue Jackets, who still will have played two more games after the Islanders face the Kings.

The Islanders enter the game in the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot but just one point ahead of the Flyers, who host the Devils on Thursday night.

The Kings opened their four-game road trip with a 4-2 loss at Washington on Tuesday and are just 2-9-1 in 2020, having not won in regulation since Jan. 9.

But they did beat the Islanders, 4-1, in Los Angeles on Nov. 27.

“They have a lot of good, young talent and some good, veteran players that have had really great careers,” captain Anders Lee said. “They’re just working on finding their way. I don’t expect them to be in this position very long.”

The Kings still have Cup holdovers Anze Kopitar (17 goals, 30 assists), one of the league’s top, two-way centers, Jeff Carter (16 goals, nine assists), Dustin Brown (10 goals, 14 assists) and defenseman Drew Doughty (six goals, 22 assists).

And with the Feb. 24 trade deadline looming, Thursday is a good chance for the Islanders to scout potential rental target Tyler Toffoli (14 goals, 16 assists) in person.

The Kings acquired left wing Trevor Moore from the Maple Leafs late Wednesday in exchange for backup goalie Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford. Moore, from Thousand Oaks, California, is expected to make his Kings’ debut against the Islanders.

Acrobatic and extremely flexible goalie Jonathan Quick is another Cup holdover.

“He’s really aggressive,” Eberle said. “He attacks everything. He’s quick, too. Sometimes, you think you have him beat and you have a layup and he gets over. As a shooter, you have to be quick and you have to be deceptive.”

Eberle has eight goals and 19 assists in 41 games but five goals and five assists over his last 10 games. Anthony Beauvillier has three goals and an assist over his last three games.

Defenseman Devon Toews is expected to play in his 100th NHL game and Kieffer Bellows, the 19th overall pick in 2016 who was called up from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport on Monday, is expected to play in his second after notching a secondary assist on Derick Brassard’s second-period goal on Tuesday.

“The biggest thing for him, just like Michael Dal Colle, if you don’t move your feet in this league, you get chewed up,” coach Barry Trotz said. “The league demands that you move your feet and if you just want to glide around the ice and just think your way through it and just use your hands only, you’re not going to have any success in this league. I think he sees that and he was moving his feet and he got rewarded.”

The Islanders play six of their next seven on the road after Thursday, the lone home game against the Flyers on Tuesday at Barclays Center.

Here are the projected lineups:

Islanders (30-15-6)

Anders Lee-Mathew Barzal-Jordan Eberle

Anthony Beauvilliuer-Brock Nelson-Josh Bailey

Kieffer Bellows-Derick Brassard-Michael Dal Colle

Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Leo Komarov

Nick Leddy-Ryan Pulock

Devon Toews-Scott Mayfield

Noah Dobson-Johnny Boychuk

Thomas Greiss (14-7-2, 2.50 goals-against average, .922 save percentage)

Kings (19-30-5)

Alex Iafallo-Anze Kopitar-Dustin Brown

Carl Grundstrom-Jeff Carter-Tyler Toffoli

Adrian Kempe-Blake Lizotte-Austin Wagner

Trevor Moore-Mike Amadio-Trevor Lewis

Alec Martinez-Drew Doughty

Ben Hutton-Matt Roy

Kurtis MacDermid-Sean Walker

Jonathan Quick (11-20-3, 3.02, .895)

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.