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When the Los Angeles Kings host the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night at Staples Center Adidas Carter Rowney Jersey , they’ll try to pick up where they left off before the Christmas break. The Kings (14-20-3) have collected points in three straight games for the first time this season, beating the visiting Winnipeg Jets 4-1 followed by overtime wins at the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights on consecutive days last weekend.“It’s going to make the break that much better and we feel really good in here,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty told reporters after the win against Vegas on Sunday. “At the same time, we can’t let this break slow down our momentum. We’ve got to carry it through and carry it on after.”Article continues below ...The Coyotes (16-18-2) won two in a row before the break, beating the visiting Colorado Avalanche 6-4 on Saturday to end a three-game losing streak before winning a shootout in San Jose on Sunday.“It definitely boosts our confidence,” said Arizona forward Alex Galchenyuk, who scored twice in regulation and had the only goal of the shootout against San Jose. “We’re working hard, playing the right way, executing the game plan. We’re a hard team to beat and we’re creating scoring chances, we’re going to the net and playing solid in our own end. … We’ve got to keep going now. We’re not satisfied. There’s still a lot of games to be played and we’ve got to keep pushing.”The Coyotes have already won at Staples Center this season, beating the Kings 2-1 on Dec. 4.Adin Hill made 25 saves in that game to improve to 4-0-0 in his rookie season, but he has allowed at least three goals in each of his past five starts and was returned to Tucson of the American Hockey League on Monday.Darcy Kuemper likely will get the start against the Kings on Thursday. He earned the win against San Jose after losing his previous six starts, though the Coyotes were held to one goal in four of those outings and two in another.The Kings remain last in the NHL in scoring at 2.30 goals a game, but they’ve done better lately, scoring at least three goals in four straight games for the first time this season.Despite a rocky first three months of the season Adidas Jaycob Megna Jersey , Los Angeles is only eight points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.“You never know what can happen,” Doughty said. “We know that if we can win, let’s say 15 out of 20, 17 out of 20, something like that, we might be back in the picture. You never know, so we’ve just got to control what we’re doing and win some hockey games.”The Coyotes are five points out of the final playoff spot. They also realize they need to keep winning if they hope to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2011-12 season, when they lost to the Kings in the Western Conference finals.“It’s going to be a big second half for us, a big push mentally,” Arizona coach Rich Tocchet told reporters after the win against San Jose. Each time Boston’s top line jumps over the boards, the Tampa Bay Lightning are on red alert.Make a mistake and Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak will make you pay.”You think it’s going all right and you’re playing well, and they only need one look,” Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. ”We knew that. That’s no surprise. They’re a good line.”Top lines are lighting up opponents all over the playoffs, ratcheting scoring up to a pace not seen in more than two decades. Top trios from the Capitals Adidas Max Jones Jersey , Golden Knights, Penguins, Jets and Predators are having their way against top opposing defensemen. Goals are supposed to be harder to come by in the playoffs, but after years of NHL rule changes to get goals, goals and more goals, that is exactly what’s happening.”Every line, every group of forwards, give different challenges for defensemen,” Washington coach Barry Trotz said. ”It’s the types of reads and the tendencies of the group and as a series goes on there’s going to be more and more deception happening from a forward group to our group of defenders and vice versa. It’s the constant reads and the constant communication and the constant positioning that you have to have against really dynamic people who are good collectively or individually.”Especially in the Stanley Cup playoffs, it’s not easy playing good D.A total of 341 goals were scored through the first 56 playoff games, the most at that point since 1996 (347). Elite goaltenders are putting on a show, yet top lines like Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist (Pittsburgh); Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson (Washington); Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler (Winnipeg); Jonathan Marchessault Adidas Andrej Sustr Jersey , William Karlsson and Reilly Smith (Vegas): and Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson (Nashville) are taking advantage of their opportunities.Top lines have been on the ice for 42 of the 78 goals scored through Tuesday in the second round, a showcase of skill that proves great offense is beating great defense. So many of the game’s best defensemen are now counted on as much for their offense as the play in their own end, yet even those tasked with stopping the stars haven’t been able to do it.”We’ve got a game plan, but I don’t think we’ve completely executed it yet,” Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon said of containing the Golden Knights’ top line. ”We’re kind of doing it in bits and pieces.”The Penguins trail the Capitals 2-1 in their second-round series in part because they haven’t gotten much offense beyond Guentzel, Crosby and Hornqvist, plus the goals that top line is giving up to Ovechkin and Kuznetsov.”They’re pretty aggressive, so there’s some open ice heading the other way against them,” top Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen said. ”You’ve got to defend hard when they have it and make your plays and have confidence to make plays when you do have it. If you’re only playing defense against them, it’s going to be a long night. You have to go on the attack, as well.”That’s the risk-reward for elite defenders in the playoffs: knowing when to counterattack. It has worked some for the Bruins, who so far have limited the damage from Tampa Bay’s J.T. Miller, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov and put up some goals against them.Bruins defensemen Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy corralled Auston Matthews and Toronto’s top offensive performers in the first round and continue to draw the toughest assignments against the Lightning.”The guys on the ice, that’s their assignment for 15 Adidas Alex Galchenyuk Jersey , 18 minutes, whatever they play at even strength that night,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. ”There’s no magic formula about following them around or any particular structure other than Z and Charlie have done a good job of not getting caught up ice, giving them odd-man rushes for the most part.”Pittsburgh’s biggest hole through three games defensively – outside of Matt Murray’s apparently vulnerable glove hand – has been defending the Capitals on the rush.”They’re a very skilled team,” defensemen Justin Schultz said. ”You’ve got to have numbers back and keep your head on a swivel because they’re very talented.”It’s not just rush goals, though, as the Jets’ Connor, Scheifele and Wheeler showed in helping lead a comeback from down 3-0 to beat the Predators 7-4 to take a 2-1 series lead. Winnipeg and Nashville have combined for 25 goals despite two Vezina Trophy finalists in net and some of the best defensemen in hockey. It’s a blueprint for how the NHL wanted to crank up offense.”I think the mindset is definitely to play well defensively,” Predators captain Roman Josi said. ”Both teams want to play a good game defensively, and for some reason these two teams seem to bring the best out of each other and they’re always high-scoring games.”—AP Sports Writers Josh Dubow in San Jose, California, and Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, and freelance reporter Matt Kalman in Boston contributed.—