The Los Angeles Kings were getting ready to return to the ice this weekend with their first practice since the start of the 4 Nations Face-Off. There were a few notable absences but they did welcome back a key part of their roster. These are some news and notes for the Kings from yesterday.
Los Angeles Kings were missing three players on Tuesday
The Los Angeles Kings had three players missing from their first practice which included Adrian Kempe, Drew Doughty and Brandt Clarke. The first two weren't that surprising as Doughty is still participating in the 4 Nations Face-Off as part of Team Canada and they will be playing Team USA in the Championship Game on Thursday night.
As for Kempe, his team was eliminated in the round robin portion of the tournament but the Kings decided to give him some rest. According to Zach Dooley, he probably won't return until Friday at the earliest but it might not be until the Kings take the ice on Saturday against Utah.
Not expecting Adrian Kempe back with the @LAKings until Friday or Saturday. He is back in LA but will get a break now.
— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) February 18, 2025
Jim Hiller - “He needs to stay away from the rink and recharge as best as he can. Everybody else got that opportunity & he’s played a lot for us this year.”
This is a smart move for a player who currently leads all forwards on the Kings in ice time and is coming off a three-game tournament where he played at least 15 minutes each game. The third player was Brandt Clarke, which initially created some concern that he might be part of some trade discussions. However, that was not the case and he had some travel issues.
Mikey Anderson back at practice with no restrictions
The Los Angeles Kings looked to finally be back to full strength at the end of January with the return of Drew Doughty. However, not soon after Doughty returned the Kings would lose Mikey Anderson to an injury and he would miss the past few games.
The good news is that the injury looks to be past Anderson and he was back at practice in a full capacity. As Russell Morgan with Hockey Royalty noted, the Kings had him back with Vladislav Gavrikov but that might not be a permanent pair since Doughty wasn't available at practice.
Tough to evaluate line rushes with players absent but the Anderson-Gavrikov pair is back together with Mikey skating in a regular black jersey.
— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) February 18, 2025
The return of Mikey Anderson will be great for this defense but it does raise a question that wasn't really answered when Drew Doughty returned and that is where does Brandt Clarke fit in? In the two games where the Kings had Doughty and Anderson, Clarke was a healthy scratch but he returned to replace Anderson.
We might not get an answer to that question until lineups are announced before the game on Saturday.
Thatcher Demko unlikely to play against the Los Angeles Kings
After the game against the Utah Hockey Club, the Kings will have two key divisional matchups with home games against the Vegas Golden Knights and the Vancouver Canucks. The Kings are trying to catch the Golden Knights in the standings while keeping the Canucks behind them.
As for the game against the Canucks, it appears that Vancouver will be without their top goalie in Thatcher Demko. He was one of the best goalies last season but missed the first part of this season and once again appears to be dealing with an injury.
The Canucks on Tuesday announced that Demko will not be traveling with the team on their five-game road trip due to a lower-leg injury which includes the game next Wednesday against the Kings.