BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Los Angeles Kings have survived the first third of the season without starting goaltender Jonathan Quick. Theyll be pushed to the limit, however, as they embark on a nine-game road trip that begins in Buffalo on Tuesday night.Its fun. Its a little different, said center Tyler Toffoli, according to the Los Angeles Times. Weve been at home for so long, so going on the road is going to feel weird at first but weve got to start off the trip right, with a win at Buffalo, and just keep going from there.The road trip will indeed be quite the test for Los Angeles (14-11-2). It includes two back-to-back scenarios before wrapping up in Edmonton just before the start of the new year on Dec. 29.The Kings played eight of their past 10 games at home, posting a 6-2-1 record. Theyll hope to fare better than they did in their most recent long road trip; Los Angeles went 1-3-1 in a five-game road trek in mid-November.I know it might not be mathematically the midseason break, but it feels like that, especially for the players, defenseman Matt Greene said, according to the L.A. Times. Once you hit Christmas the pedal goes down until the All-Star break and it goes down a little bit more after that, so youve got to eat up these points and get into the holiday break.Center Jeff Carter leads the Kings in points with 22 (12 goals, 10 assists). Peter Budaj has performed admirably in place of the injured Quick, who has been out of action since the very first game of the season. Budaj has a record of 13-7-2, along with 2.18 goals against average and .910 save percentage.Los Angeles is coming off a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.The Sabres (10-11-6) are hoping to have the services of forward Kyle Okposo against the Kings. Okposo missed Mondays practice due to an illness.When I was hurt I got to watch him a lot and learned a lot about how he plays, center Jack Eichel said of Okposo, according to the teams website. I think hes probably one of the most underrated players in our league, just how good he is with the puck, without the puck, in all areas of the game. Hes strong on it, hes very skilled, and he can make passes.He was not feeling well last night and just had to stay at home, Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma said, per the teams website. We hope he recovers and does well and can play.If Okposo does play, hes expected to be on a line alongside Eichel and Evander Kane. He switched places with Sam Reinhart in the lineup at Sundays practice.Buffalo is coming off a disappointing 4-1 home loss to Washington on Friday. The Sabres are 1-2-1 in their last four games. Cheap Oilers Jerseys . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Leon Draisaitl Jersey . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. http://www.cheapedmontonoilersjerseys.com/ . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. Jujhar Khaira Jersey . Canada is now down to its 22-player limit, although but players wont be registered until Christmas Day. Changes could still be made as a result of a suspension or injury. Drake Caggiula Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Kevin Hayes was at the right place at the right time.Hayes scored a power-play goal with 1:09 left in the third period to lift the New York Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.Jets forward Drew Stafford was in the penalty box for high-sticking when Ryan McDonaghs shot through traffic deflected off Winnipeg forward Adam Lowrys stick to Hayes, who capitalized for his 11th of the season.I think it was a greasy goal, a point shot off about three guys, Hayes said. (I) just tipped it in. That was definitely puck luck, for sure.Winnipeg goalie Michael Hutchinson admitted he lost sight of the puck with the players in front blocking his view.I saw McDonagh go to shoot in the slot and as soon as he went to release it, a bunch of traffic came into my eyesight, Hutchinson said. As a goalie, you wait that fraction of a second where the puck should hit you or the boards. I didnt hear anything, then my peripheral vision caught the puck to my right. I tried to push over, but I just couldnt get there.Staffords infraction on Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi with 2:56 left in the third had fans at MTS Centre booing.Jets coach Paul Maurice was asked if Girardi did a sell job.I cant tell, Maurice said. It doesnt matter. Its a high stick, its up there. Whether you think youre right or not, it doesnt matter. You have to learn how to play with your stick on the ice and get your body in the right spots.Chris Kreider also scored for New York. Antti Raanta, playing for the first time since Nov. 27, stopped 17 shots. The Finnish goaltender praised his teammates penalty killing, especially when Winnipeg had two power plays in the third period.I think the first penalty in the third period, we didnt give them zone time at all, Raanta said. The second one was just a great job of blocking the shots and taking the passes away..ddddddddddddIts a great thing to be a goalie when the guys do that kind of job in front of you. Everybodys putting their whole body on the line so its a great thing.Mark Scheifele had the tying goal for Winnipeg midway through the second period, and Hutchinson finished with 22 saves.The Rangers had 10 blocked shots and Winnipeg 15.They were blocking a few, McDonagh said of the Jets. Pretty fortuitous bounce (for Hayes goal), but we had the puck in the zone for a while and good things happen there.New York opened the scoring at 8:02 of the first on the power play when a trio of precision passes started with Mats Zuccarello and ended with Derek Stepan sending Kreider the puck at the side of an open net.The Rangers outshot the Jets 10-6 after the first, but could have been up by more goals if not for some tough stops by Hutchinson.Scheifele, who missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, used a rebound off Paul Postmas point shot to score his 14th of the season at 9:51 of the second.New York led 18-13 in shots after the second, which included both teams having shots ring off goal posts.Winnipeg had two power plays in the third period and New York also had a pair, including the last with 2:56 remaining in the third that Hayes used for his 20th point of the season.Game notes Kreiders goal gave him a point in four straight games, with three goals and two assists. ... The Rangers improved to 9-0-1 in games following a loss this season. ... Winnipeg came in 9 for 9 on the penalty-kill but the Rangers went 2 for 4 on their power play. ... The Jets fell to 8-4-2 in one-goal games.UP NEXTRangers: At Chicago on Friday night in the finale of a stretch of three straight road games.Jets: At Calgary on Saturday night. ' ' '