Anze Kopitar – Photo: D. Sheehan
He’s Back! Anze Kopitar Took His Rightful Spot On The Kings Top Line This Morning In El Segundo, Signifying His Probable Return To Game Action Tomorrow In Colorado
By Paul Armbruster | KingsNewsDaily.com
Two days removed from a poor opening day performance, the Kings returned to practice on Monday ahead of their flight to Denver where they will face the Avs on Tuesday. There was plenty of news on the ice (and off) but none bigger than Anze Kopitar returning to the Kings first line with Dustin Brown and Justin Williams.
Here’s how the lines and d-pairs looked.
Brown (23) — Kopitar (11)— Williams (14)
Penner (25)/Gagne (12) — Richards (10) — Carter (77)
King (74) — Stoll (28) — Lewis (22)
Clifford (13) — Fraser (24) — Nolan (71)/Richardson (15)
Scuderi (7) Doughty (8)
Martinez (27) Voynov (26)
Drewiske (44) Muzzin (73)
Mitchell (33)
In Other News
There was a surprise revelation this morning that newly acquired Anthony Stewart was placed on waivers. If he is taken by another team, which appears likely, the Kings will have ended up getting 2 draft picks for Kevin Westgarth leaving Stewart with a very short-lived time with the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Defenseman Matt Greene did not skate in practice and is believe to be injured. No word yet by the Kings. It has been reported that he has a “mid-body” injury. When asked when Greene got hurt, Coach Sutter replied, “During the game.” Classic. UPDATE: Lisa Dillman of the LA Times has reported that Matt Greene may be out for the remainder of the season.
Also skating was Willie Mitchell, who took part in his first full practice of the young season. Mitchell is expected to travel with the team but will not play against Colorado leaving Jake Muzzin as Greene’s likely replacement. Said Muzzin after practice, “I feel like I’m ready. My speed is good, I feel strong, and I’m a lot more confident this time around.” “They haven’t told me anything yet, but I would think if Greener’s out, that I would play tomorrow in Colorado and we’ll take it from there.” If Muzzin does play, it will be the first time he has appeared in an NHL game since the 2010-11 season where he totaled 1 assist and had a -2 rating.
Simon Gagne and Dustin Penner shared duties on the Kings 2nd line left wing during practice leaving a question as to who will start in that spot and will one of them be scratched for tomorrow’s game. Sutter was pleased with the play of King and Clifford (the 3rd and 4th line left wingers) so it appears as of now they will keep their spots ahead of the two top 6 forwards Gagne and Penner.
Brad Richardson, who was scratched in the Kings first game, was suited up as an extra 4th line player, sharing shifts with Jordan Nolan and Kyle Clifford. Richardson has shown a knack for scoring against his former team in years past. Last year, however, he did not earn a point and had a -5 rating in 4 games against the Avs.
Questions & Answers (comment below)
Will Anthony Stewart get picked up off waivers? If not, will the Kings assign him to Manchester?
Who will start on the Kings 2nd left wing tomorrow, Gagne or Penner? Why?
Will Jake Muzzin get his first NHL start in 3 years? Concerned?
Will Brad Richardson make his season debut on the Kings 4th line? If so, who will he replace?
KND practice video…
i say Richardson wont start playing next game because the 4th was working Saturday..
Muzzin with DD#2 going to be horrible…
Glad to see Kopi back..
Glad that Mitchell is almost ready to be back.
Sucks that Greene is hurt hope not its not a major.
Hope the real champion Kings show up tomorrow and get the W.
Colorado has played the Kings tough in recent years. I expect them to attack Muzzin and/or Drewiske as often as possible with the last line-change advantage. I agree Richie will likely be scratched but I have a hunch that Nolan may be on a short leash.
A short leash for the guy on pace for 48 goals? haha just had to throw that in there. In all seriousness though, I think they are going to play Nolan quite a bit now for his toughness. With Westy and now Stewart out of the mix, Nolan becomes more of an insurance policy against on ice shenanigans. Will see.
I agree with ya there..dont need clifford in too many fights, and as you mentioned he got a goal, and nice one at that..i think he definitely stays. Richardson against vancouver though haha he seems really good against them to me for some reason or other.
If by “Vancouver” you mean Colorado and the latter being richardsons former team… then yes. He does play well against the Av’s.
…and then there’s that. Richardson has an automatic hat-trick every time he plays in Denver. Even more of reason to play him!
Two years ago Richardson got a hat trick in Denver and not much else since. Kings were 8-0 v Colorado until last season when Richardson had no points and a -5. Go with Gagne on this one.
Left Wing last year, Right Defense this year. Muzzin and Green may be the closest fit on the D end of things.
Drewiske is fine with a full complement of Defense to cover for him…something he won’t have against Colorado .
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I think Gagne AND Richardson will be scratches. Penner 2nd line LW.
oh i was aware of that, but lately ive loved him playing against vancouver. He just seems to disrupt and create so much havoc against em, plus his game 5 tying goal
That goal was huge. Richardson has shown time and again he can contribute at critical times. He now seems like the official ‘rover’ on the Kings. I just hope that’s enough for him to keep plugging away.
I dont get trading Westie just to waive his replacement, Sure it gives us picks, free’s cap space and pays respect to Westie vs just waiving him.
I know DS isnt a guy to carry enforcers, but this is one I dont get other than a sign of respect.
I guess I am answering myself on that one, respect and cap space/roster space. I guess my point is I would love to see the “big” picture on the logic.
As for Gagne and Penner, I say Penner, he had a much better game.
I dont know a lot about Muzzin, glad to see some are moving up, its natural progression. I have hopes because of Nolan and King.
I am not sure what to think of Richardson, his games/time have been declining (over the 3 years) and correspondingly his stats as well. We are stacked pretty deep on C, We have good competition on all lines so eeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhh I don’t know.
agree Penner was better then Gagne, sometimes Gagne looks like he isn’t giving an effort at all.
I know he scores and comes with some health issues but for his money he should also be willing to get involved with 50/50 pucks.
You pretty much summed up the Westie trade reasons (draft picks and cap dump), plus it allowed Westy to go back home where he is from, what’s not to get?
I agree, Penner actually looked pretty good, not to mention with Kopitar back he goes to a line he’s had success with last year. That is a no brainer in my book. Sitting Gagne sends all the right messages imho.
True on sitting Gags, I had not thought of that.
I speculated the other day that the Stewart/Westgarth trade was a win/win for both clubs in that, like you said, it gives Westgarth a new opportunity and gives the Kings some picks in return. Stewart seemed to be a mandatory ‘throw in’ player, which can be taken a couple of ways. One, he was no longer in Carolina’s plans and needed him off their books. Two, giving the Kings an extra body just in case of injury in the lead up to the start of the season. It seems obvious that if Westy didn’t have much of a place on the Kings, neither would Stewart. They aren’t the same kind of player, but they are 4th liners and the Kings 4th line seems very set for the most part.
Paul again this is so awesome of you.
I had to register and will be a regular follower.
May I comment I have used the drills the Kings skate in your practice updates over the last two weeks with our Minor Midget A team. (Ayr, Ontario)
It has supported recently in a successful tournament (International Silver Stick Tournament) beating Fresno California 4-0 and New Jersey Admirals 6-1.
Love this site, I agree 4th line stays in and Clifford, Richardson and Nolan will share duties until someone gets hurt and then some additional line juggling will occur.
Thanks harty! So you’re coaching that team I take it? My friend coaches hockey too and loves to use NHL drills. It must be fun to employ so many different techniques, especially with so much information now readily available on the internet.
Coach with great friends, Lund, Lochner, Pley, Hillenaar.
All good thanks for the drills.
This is awesome and I’m passing the website around to many coaches for same reasons. I suspect your viewership will expand large.
Fantastic. Thank you for spreading the word. My goal is to have a site like this for every team!
It seems a waste to have to sit either Penner or gagne with the skill they bring but I get it. Both are top 6 guys and I think u have to give the 3rd and 4th lines the chance to continue their magic from last year! good problem to have I guess.
I expect quick to rebound from the last subpar game for him. To me that is the biggest key to the season.
in the 3rd video around the 2 min mark you had a high pitched “Stopped by Quick” that had me laughing.
Great work! Love it!
I really need to get down there one day to watch practice. I have been wanting to see it for years. This makes me think its time to stop wishing and start planning.
Excellent article as usual.
Unfortunately, now i have the theme song from that 1970′s sitcom “Soap” that played it at the end when they asked cliffhanger questions.
I will continue to tune in for the answers to this season’s questions, but dude – my heart can’t take this kind of drama after the lockout shenanigans. Sigh. Serinity now, serenity now, serenity now.
And yes, I do watch way too much TV.
I plan on having questions become a regular part of my reports. Now I will research old episodes of Soap for inspiration!