Looking to shake things up after back-to-back losses, Los Angeles is inserting Dan Carcillo into the lineup for the first time this season tonight against the Senators.
Carcillo, 28, was acquired from Chicago in July and will reportedly replace Dwight King in the lineup and skate alongisde Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, as the Kings try to rebound from defeats to Winnipeg and the New York Rangers.
It’ll be interesting to see how “Carbomb” fits in L.A. When he’s on his game, he can be an effective agitator with some skill — he scored 12 goals and 22 points the year Philly went to the Cup Final, racking up 207 PIM.
He’s also tight with Richards and Carter from those Philly days. In fact, Carcillo was one of the first people to stick up for the pair during the infamous “Dry Island” fiasco.
“I have nothing but good things to say about Mike Richards,” Carcillo told the Chicago Sun-Times. “He’s an amazing person. He’s an amazing captain. It makes me upset kind of how he’s been dragged through the dirt a little bit as well as Jeff Carter.
“I don’t think it’s fair and I don’t think it’s warranted.”
In other Kings lineup news, Alec Martinez will draw into the defense at the expense of Jake Muzzin.
This really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as L.A. head coach Darryl Sutter called out Muzzin yesterday, saying the young blueliner was “struggling” and had to “learn not to turn the puck over.”