The day after Kings defenseman Alec Martinez was unable to finish Game 1 of his team’s first-round series with the Sharks, it sounds like reinforcements are on the way to Los Angeles.
LA Kings Insider is reporting that d-man Kevin Gravel is on his way up from AHL Ontario.
From the report:
Gravel’s recall raises questions about the availability of Alec Martinez that the team, because of the guarded nature of injury information in the playoffs, would prefer not to answer. After being deemed “day-to-day” and missing four games due to an undisclosed injury, Martinez returned to action in Thursday’s 4-3 Game 1 loss to San Jose but logged only 11:43 of ice time through the first two periods and did not return to the bench in the third.
Martinez did not skate today at practice, after which head coach Darryl Sutter was asked about his defensive depth.
“We’ve used a lot of guys,” he told reporters. “If you look over the course of the year, we’ve used, what is it now, 12? Whatever it is. I don’t know, count. I’m not really sure. We’ve used a lot of the kids. ... So we’ve used a lot of guys. It’s the toughest position, but hey, you still need them to give you, whether it’s 10 minutes or 15 minutes, they’ve got to be quality.”
Sutter also pointed to the loss of Martinez as a significant factor in the Kings’ 4-3 loss in Game 1.
“Last night it was the difference in our game when we went down to five defensemen, clearly,” he said. “The second period, it was clearly the difference in our game.”
Game 2 goes Saturday evening at Staples Center.