LOS ANGELES -- The surprising Ottawa Senators continue their California road trip when they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday afternoon.The Senators missed the Eastern Conference playoffs by 11 points last season and hopes were not high as they entered this campaign with one of the most porous defenses in the league. With a renewed focus on defense by coach Guy Boucher and strong goaltending from the duo of Craig Anderson and Mike Condon, they are in the mix in the early-season Atlantic Division race.Ottawa (16-9-2) comes off a 4-2 victory in San Jose on Wednesday despite getting outshot 37-17. The Senators used a big effort from Condon (4-1-1, 1.77 GAA and .943 save percentage) and effective penalty killing to improve their road record to 7-4-0, a significantly better pace than last seasons 17-21-3 mark away from Canadian Tire Centre.We got a great start and although it seemed like we spent the last half of the game in the penalty box, I liked the last 10 minutes of our game, Boucher said. We finally get two days off between games after playing such a long stretch of games every other game. I am excited to see how we do with the additional rest.One Senator will achieve a career milestone when Chris Neil suits up for his 1,000th NHL game, a rare feat given that in the age of free agency, Neil has spent his entire career with the Senators. Given his rugged style, players rarely have the longevity to play 15 seasons and with the game continuing to evolving to more speed and skill, its unlikely that a player of Neils skillset will ever meet this mark again.Good things happen when you work hard in life, Neil said prior to his historic achievement. Ive approached every training camp like I need to earn a spot on the team. I dont take anything for granted.Los Angeles (13-11-2) comes into the contest on the heels on a poor performance in a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. The consensus after a lethargic effort was that the additional time off the team has had over the past few weeks has dulled their recent efforts.We had a bad start, Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin said. There should be no excuses, we have to be better prepared mentally to play.The Kings will try to gain a split of the two-game season series, dropping a last-minute 2-1 decision in Ottawa on Nov. 11 as they complete a stretch of eight home games in their last 10 contests. It is their last opportunity to play in front of their home fans until Dec. 31.After a strong start to their home campaign, Los Angeles has lost three straight at home, two in regulation and one via shootout -- so grabbing two points in their final home game ahead of a daunting road schedule is important. The Kings road record is 4-7-1 and with the Western Conference playoff race looking to be more contentious than last season, Los Angeles will need to play close to .500 hockey on the road to be in the mix.Los Angeles may be looking at other options to strengthen its goaltending as Jeff Zatkoff dropped to 1-4-0 in the Carolina loss. The Kings have managed to win games in the absence of Jonathan Quick, who was sidelined with a serious groin injury after just playing one period in the season opener in San Jose.Zatkoff was slated to be the primary goaltender during Quicks absence but he was sidelined with a groin injury that has limited his appearances.While third-string netminder Peter Budaj has given a solid performance and at one point played in 22 consecutive games, the teams .899 save percentage ties with St. Louis for 27th place after being a in the top 10 last season. Speculation is rising that Zatkoff will have to perform well on this road trip in order to maintain his roster spot. Flames Jerseys 2021 . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. Fake Flames Jerseys . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. https://www.cheapflames.com/ . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Stitched Flames Jerseys . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. Custom Calgary Flames Jerseys . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. CHICAGO (1-3) at INDIANAPOLIS (1-3)Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, FoxOPENING LINE -- Colts by 6RECORD VS. SPREAD -- Chicago 1-3, Indianapolis 1-3SERIES RECORD -- Colts lead 23-19LAST MEETING -- Bears beat Colts 41-21, Sept. 9, 2012LAST WEEK -- Bears beat Lions 17-14; Colts lost to Jaguars 30-27AP PRO32 RANKING -- Bears No. 30, Colts No. 28BEARS OFFENSE -- OVERALL (24), RUSH (26), PASS (15).BEARS DEFENSE -- OVERALL (10), RUSH (26), PASS (8).COLTS OFFENSE -- OVERALL (17), RUSH (24), PASS (13).COLTS DEFENSE -- OVERALL (24), RUSH (18T), PASS (24).STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES -- Bears have lost twice in series since Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984 (2004 regular season at Chicago and Super Bowl following 2006 season). Bears have won other six meetings. ... Bears ruined opening of Lucas Oil Stadium with 29-13 victory in 2008 and ruined Andrew Lucks debut in 2012 season opener. ... Coach John Fox hasnt said whether Jay Cutler or Bryan Hoyer will start at QB this week. If Cutler plays, he would make 100th appearance as Bear in home state (Indiana). ... Hoyer is first Bears QB with back-to-back 300-yard games since Josh McCown in 2013. ... Last week, RB Jordan Howard, former Indiana University star, became Bears first 100-yard runner since Matt Forte in September 2015. ... LB Danny Trevathan, then with Denver, was part of tandem that knocked Luck out for season last year with lacerated kidney. ... At 39-17 (.696), Colts are tied with Patriots for best winning percentage in games decided by three or fewer points since 20001, but are 0-1 in 2016.dddddddddddd... Luck needs one rushing TD to tie John Unitas (13) for No. 3 in franchise history among quarterbacks, two to tie Bert Jones (14) for No. 2 on franchises career list by QB. ... RB Frank Gore needs 20 yards rushing to pass Jim Brown (12,312) for No. 9 on NFLs career list. ... Colts streak of consecutive games without 100-yard rusher now stands at 54. ... K Adam Vinatieri has made 33 consecutive field goals, three short of own career best in Indy. ... WR Phillip Dorsett leads NFL with 23.9 yards per reception. ... WR T.Y. Hilton is tied for sixth in 2016 with 25 receptions and is No. 8 with 336 yards. ... OLB Erik Walden is tied for No. 2 in AFC in sacks (4) and No. 3 in AFC in forced fumbles (2). ... Colts could have starting offensive line (LT Anthony Castonzo, LG Jack Mewhort, C Ryan Kelly, RG Denzelle Good and RT Joe Reitz), top three CBs (Vontae Davis, Patrick Robinson and Darius Butler) and top three safeties (Mike Adams, Clayton Geathers and T.J. Green) on field for first time this season. ... Indy cut leading tackler, LB Sio Moore, and starting CB Antonio Cromartie on Tuesday. ... Fantasy Tip: Indy may be tied for No. 1 in league with best red-zone offense, but getting inside 20-yard line has been problematic. Take only automatic thing in Sundays game, Vinatieri.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '