Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Kopitar out, Lombardi irate as Kings will play shorthanded vs. Flyers

Dean Lombardi

The first ramification of Slava Voynov’s suspended-indefinitely-but-still-on-the-books situation has come about, as the Kings will play with less than a full compliment of players tonight in Philadelphia.

Anze Kopitar is out with an upper-body injury and because the club is operating so close to the salary cap ceiling, it is unable to get a replacement forward in the lineup.

More, from the L.A. Times:

Per Dean Lombardi - the kings won’t be at to recall a player for Kopitar spot

— lisa dillman (@reallisa) October 28, 2014


He said they will be playing one short tonight - DL most definitely unhappy - called the situation ‘a political football ‘

— lisa dillman (@reallisa) October 28, 2014


Lombardi: “It’s one thing for the player to have to pay a penalty.It’s another thing for 19 other guys to have to go out there shorthanded.”

— lisa dillman (@reallisa) October 28, 2014


Per LA Kings Insider, the Kings have been in “ongoing conversations” with both the NHL and PA regarding potential cap relief for Voynov, who is still on the books at $4.16M -- despite the fact he’s not available to play while under investigation for allegations of domestic assault.

As a result, the Kings will have 11 forwards tonight: Tanner Pearson, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Dwight King, Mike Richards, Dustin Brown, Kyle Clifford, Jarret Stoll, Justin Williams, Andrey Andreoff and Jordan Nolan.

Kopitar, Marian Gaborik and Trevor Lewis (both of whom are on IR) are out.