Before the game on Monday evening (March 16) vs. the New York Rangers on the ice, Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe was said to be out of the active roster lineup for new interim head coach DJ Smith and his staff due to a lower-body injury issue.
Adrian Kempe was ruled out for the Los Angeles Kings vs. the Rangers early this week due to a lower-body nagging injury
That was the first game in the active roster lineup that Kempe had missed a contest for Smith and the Kings' coaching staff this regular season in this past few months in the West in the Pacific Division on the ice.
Kempe is reportedly out due to a lower-body injury, and his status with the injury for the Kings in the middle of this week is listed as "day-to-day".
"Just lower body, and I think at this point, it’s day-to-day. We weren’t sure, but he went out for warmups and couldn’t go. Even better, Matty Joseph comes in plays on that line. A bunch of guys rotated around, but he’s a guy that’s played in big games, he’s played in the NHL playoffs, so he’s a good guy for us, that we picked him up and he’s able to help us in games like this."DJ Smith on Adrian Kempe
It sounds like Smith and the Kings' coaching staff this regular season are hopeful that Kempe can return to the active roster lineup offensively on Thursday evening (March 19) in tomorrow night's game.
“It’ll continue to be day-to-day, we’ll monitor it and hopefully he can go tomorrow.”
Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider reported on March 18 that Kempe did not practice with the Kings' team on the ice at the Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo, CA, on Wednesday morning. Kempe reportedly tried to play for the Kings in the active roster lineup vs. the Rangers on the road at Madison Square Garden on Monday early this week on the ice.
If Kempe does play on Thursday for the Kings offensively in the active roster lineup tomorrow, he would reportedly slot back in his usual spot in the forward lines core group on the top line with center captain Anze Kopitar and winger Artemi Panarin.