The LA Kings are finally almost fully healthy: What’s next for the lineup?

The LA Kings injury list is shortening, and as great as it would be to have every player on the roster at once, its simply impossible.

In this article, well discuss the lineup, and which players are on the outside looking in for this Kings team.

Lets start with the lineup.

This was the way the lines for the Kings looked on Wednesday night against the Dallas Stars: Forwards: Trevor Moore Anze Kopitar Adrian Kempe Kevin Fiala Phillip Danault Alex Laferriere Warren Foegele Quinton Byfield Tanner Jeannot Alex Turcotte Samuel Helenius Defensemen: Mikey Anderson Vladislav Gavrikov Joel Edmundson Brandt Clarke Jacob Moverare Jordan Spence Kyle Burroughs Goalies: Darcy Kuemper David Rittich First, we must address the big fish, defenseman Drew Doughty , who sustained an ankle injury during a preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights.

He isnt skating yet, but reports have indicated that he should be good to play by early January.

As long as nothing in his recovery stalls, he likely goes in as the first-pairing right defenseman alongside Anderson, with Gavrikov shifting back to the left side, his natural position.

If the Kings remain with the 11 forwards and seven defensemen formation, one would expect the defense to look something like this: Defensemen: Anderson Doughty Gavrikov Spence Edmundson Clarke Moverare If the Kings were to return to a classic 12 forwards and six defensemen formation, Moverare would once again find himself out of the starting lineup and have to settle for a role as the extra defenseman on the roster.

The rest of the defensemen vying for that seventh slot, Caleb Jones , Kyle Burroughs , and Andreas Englund will likely be waived and sent back to Ontario.

If the Kings were to keep an 8th defenseman in fear of another team claiming him, Id expect it to be Burroughs, as he has been the best of the three so far.

Its also important to note that once Doughty returns from injury, more roster transactions may occur for the Kings to remain cap-compliant.

The forward group is interesting because many line combinations can be tried here.

Akil Thomas was activated off IR yesterday and Arthur Kaliyev is still in a no-contact jersey.

Weve seen Thomas play on the fourth line this season, and its reasonable to expect that he will return to a fourth-line role, especially with forward Trevor Lewis sidelined for about a month with a lower-body injury.

Kaliyev on the other hand has not seen the ice this season with a fractured clavicle, an injury he sustained during training camp in September.

Given that he hasnt played in an NHL game since May, Kings coach Jim Hiller will likely elect to play him on the fourth line and may give him light minutes on the second power-play unit.

Assuming the other lines remain the same, the forward lineup with both Kaliyev and Thomas may look something like this: Forwards: Moore Kopitar Kempe Fiala Danault Laferriere Foegele Byfield Jeannot Thomas Turcotte Kaliyev Helenius Helenius is likely the odd man out here due to his waiver ineligibility and will remain the 13th forward until Lewis returns.

Once Lewis returns he will likely replace Thomas on the fourth line.

From there, the full roster would look something like this: Forwards: Moore Kopitar Kempe Fiala Danault Laferriere Foegele Byfield Jeannot Lewis Turcotte Kaliyev Thomas Defensemen: Anderson Doughty Gavrikov Spence Edmundson Clarke Moverare Goalies: Kuemper Rittich None of this is set in stone, as these are all just projections.

A stretch of great or continuously awful play can easily change a players fate of whether they remain on the roster.

This article first appeared on Hockey Royalty and was syndicated with permission..

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