Head coach Jim Hiller and the Los Angeles Kings could be without two important veteran players in the lineup on the projected roster for the cross-conference matchup this Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Anze Kopitar and Darcy Kuemper both dealing with reported lower-body injuries for the Los Angeles Kings
We talked about in a piece on the site earlier today that Kings' goalie Darcy Kuemper is listed with a status of "day-to-day" after suffering a lower-body injury this week. Center Anze Kopitar is also dealing with a lower-body injury for the Kings after suffering an ankle injury in the 4-3 shootout loss on the road earlier this week on Monday night against the Minnesota Wild.
Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider reported on Oct. 15 that Kuemper and Kopitar both missed practice for the Kings and Hiller on Wednesday due to lower-body injuries.
Anton Forsberg is expected to start on Thursday night for the Kings and Hiller against the Penguins at home at Crypto Arena. Forsberg can fill in for the Kings in goal while Kuemper is recovering from the lower-body injury.
Following the report of Kuemper missing practice yesterday due to the lower-body injury, the Kings reacquired veteran Pheonix Copley from the Tampa Bay Lightning to get more proven goalie depth as a backup to Forsberg this week in net.
If Kopitar is out tonight against the Penguins, the Kings will probably move either Quinton Byfield or Alex Turcotte up in the forward lines and move Samuel Helenius into the active roster as the fourth-line center with the forwards.
An encouraging roster update for the Kings was that veteran forward Corey Perry skated yesterday for the first time since he suffered the knee injury during an on-ice team skate this fall before training camp and the preseason a couple of months ago.
Hiller didn't provide a full timeline regarding Perry's injury status update. But this was a significant marker in the progress for Perry returning to the lineup for the Kings this fall early this regular season.
"No specific timeline, but great to see him out there today. He’s been chomping at the bit, so he was ready. He obviously took some line rushes, kept him out of contact, but a really good day for him and let’s just see where it goes."Jim Hiller on Corey Perry