The Los Angeles Kings are two forwards short, as center Anze Kopitar and right winger Joel Armia exited their game against the Minnesota Wild early.
The Los Angeles Kings are forced to finish their game against the Minnesota Wild with two fewer forwards than they started with. The team will have to manage without their captain, Anze Kopitar and right winger Joel Armia.
The Kings announced that Kopitar would not return to the game with a lower-body injury, while Armia is sidelined with an upper-body injury.
Kopitar played just 4:54 of ice time in the first period, and didn't return for the start of the second frame. Los Angeles said he would not return during the second period.
As for Armia, his departure was announced by the Kings during the second intermission. He had 9:14 of ice time before being removed from the game, forcing Los Angeles to finish the match with 10 forwards.
From Kopitar to Uncertainty: The Kings’ Center Crisis
LOS ANGELES, CA — For two decades, the Los Angeles Kings have had the luxury franchises spend years chasing: a true number one centerman in Anze Kopitar. Alongside Jonathan Quick and Drew Doughty, the Kings formed Hockey's Holy Trinity—three franchise-level pillars down the middle, on the back end, and in net. In their primes, all three ranked among the very best at their respective positions. That spine was the foundation of two Stanley Cups in three years, before the Mike Richards and Slava Voynov situations derailed the Lombardi administration.
The Kopitar is in the final campaign to cap off a 20-year career, all of which has been with the Kings.
This is the second time this season that Kopitar has been dealing with a lower-body injury. In the middle of October, he missed about a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury.
That previous injury was from a puck hitting him in the ankle area, a clearing attempt from teammate and Kings right winger Adrian Kempe. Nonetheless, it's unclear to this point if that injury is connected to what forced him out of Los Angeles' contest with Minnesota.
This was Kopitar's 37th appearance of the season, and in that span, he's recorded six goals and 15 assists for 21 points. With that, he leads all Kings players in the plus-minus department with a plus-12 rating.
Going into this game against the Wild, Kopitar has been averaging 18:54 of ice time per game, the lowest average ice time he's ever logged in his career. He ranks fourth among forwards on the Kings in average ice time, sitting behind Kevin Fiala, Kempe, and Quinton Byfield, who leads all forwards.
In addition, the Slovenian is just one point away from reaching the 1,300 mark. Only 38 players in NHL history have reached that milestone.
Furthermore, once the Kings and Wild game is in the history books, he'll be just nine games away from recording 1,500 NHL games, which only 24 players have done in NHL history.
Armia, on the other hand, may have miss the Olympics if his injury is notably significant. Finland announced that Armia made the Olympic roster on Jan. 2 - the tournament begins on Feb. 11.
This season, the 32-year-old has played 41 games - including the clash with the Wild on Monday - and has registered nine goals and 16 points for the Kings.
This is Armia's first campaign with the Kings following a seven-year tenure with the Montreal Canadiens. He signed a two-year contract at $2.5 million per season in the off-season.
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