- Mats Zuccarello is week-to-week with an undisclosed injury
- The Kings are 0-3 and visit Vegas on Saturday night
- Read below for what the injury means for L.A.’s lineup
The winless Kings are going to be without Mats Zuccarello for a while.
The 39-year-old forward is week-to-week with an undisclosed injury, per NHL.com’s latest Status Report. He missed the last two days of practice after playing 17:16 in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers.
It’s unclear if this is related to the shoulder injury Zuccarello picked up in a fall before training camp. We covered how Kirill Kaprizov reacted to Zuccarello’s exit from Minnesota back in September, and he’s now barely gotten going in L.A.
Zuccarello has one assist in three games since signing a one-year, $1 million deal with the Kings on July 1. He was skating on the second line and put up 54 points in 59 games with the Wild last season.
Alex Turcotte is dealing with his own issue and is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Turcotte has one assist in three games as the second-line center, with Quinton Byfield moved up to the No. 1 spot after Anze Kopitar’s retirement.
That’s a lot of lineup shuffling for a team that hasn’t won yet. Los Angeles lost 8-4 to the Colorado Avalanche, then dropped games to the San Jose Sharks and the Panthers. The Kings have allowed 15 goals and scored nine.
Saturday’s test is a tough one. L.A. visits the defending Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights at 10 p.m. ET, then returns home for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. Our Kings outlook flagged how much this roster leans on veterans, and a 39-year-old playmaker on the shelf makes that a real question right away.
Panarin, Kempe and Byfield have combined for seven points in three games, so the top line is doing its job. The Kings need someone else to join them.
