After grabbing their first win in eight games, the Los Angeles Kings take on the Dallas Stars in Dallas for their final game on their six-game road trip.
In Carolina on Monday, the Kings snapped their eight-game losing streak and grabbed their first win of 2024 in the process. They did lose Blake Lizotte thought to a lower-body injury early in the game.
Todd McLellan called Lizotte "doubtful" for Tuesday's matchup and it appears he won't play.
With Lizotte's injury in mind, on Tuesday morning, the Kings announced that forward Samuel Fagemo had been recalled from the Ontario Reign and would join the team in Dallas.
Fans have been calling for Fagemo to join the team for a big chunk of team's losing streak, as he's been on a torrid run in the AHL.
Fagemo leads the Reign with 20 goals and 33 points in just 20 games as he establishes himself as an AHL superstar.
This is a nice reward for Fagemo, but there's no guarantee he plays tonight. He isn't a stranger to this team or the organization, having played in 13 games for the Kings over the last two seasons.
However, asking Fagemo to fly over and start on such short notice, after no practices with the Kings would be tough.
My best guess is that he was called up for insurance in case there is an injury in warmups or a forward has to miss out for some other reason.
Todd McLellan has made no secret that he isn't a fan of running with 11 forwards and seven defensemen and calling Fagemo insures that won't happen.
If Fagemo stays beyond Tuesday's game, which would likely mean Lizotte is out for a few games, Thursday seems like a good target for Fagemo's season debut.
It would be almost poetic for Fagemo to make his season debut against the Nashville Predators, the team who claimed him off waivers at the beginning of the season before sending him back down.
If he gets into that game, there might be a little extra gas in his tank.
Assuming Fagemo doesn't play on Tuesday, I'd expect a return to the lineup for Arthur Kaliyev and potentially Brandt Clarke.
The only guaranteed change is in net, where Cam Talbot is going to start.
Projected Los Angeles Kings Lines:
Forwards:
Quinton Byfield - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala - Phil Danault - Trevor Moore
Alex Laferriere - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Jaret Anderson-Dolan
Carl Grundstrom - Trevor Lewis - Arthur Kaliyev
Defense:
Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty
Vladislav Gavrikov - Matt Roy
Andreas Englund - Brandt Clarke
Goalies:
Cam Talbot
David Rittich
Projected Dallas Starts Lines:
Forwards:
Jason Robertson - Roope Hintz - Joe Pavelski
Mason Marchment -Matt Duchene - Tyler Seguin
Jamie Benn - Wyatt Johnston - Evgenii Dadonov
Sam Steel - Radek Faksa - Craig Smith
Defense:
Ryan Suter - Nils Lundkvist
Esa Lindell - Jani Hakanpaa
Thomas Harley - Joel Hanley
Goalies:
Jake Oettinger
Matt Murray