Kings blueliner Tom Gilbert will have a disciplinary hearing for his hit on Anaheim forward Nick Ritchie, the Department of Player Safety announced on Wednesday.
The play in question, which occurred during Anaheim’s 4-0 win last night:
Ritchie left the game and didn’t return. Per Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle, he underwent concussion protocol and was being re-evaluated today.
Ritchie won’t play in Anaheim’s game tonight against Pittsburgh.
As for the Kings, losing Gilbert for any length of time would hurt. The club is already down the services of Brayden McNabb, which has forced head coach Darryl Sutter to utilize the likes of Matt Greene and Derek Forbort on the blueline. The veteran Green only appeared in three games last year, missing extensive time with injury, while Forbort has just 24 games of NHL experience.
Gilbert has been a pretty steady contributor this year. He’s averaging over 16 minutes per night through eight games, and has registered three assists.