Clifford has more time to prepare

Colin Fraser will miss a second consecutive game tonight, as he returns to Los Angeles today after dealing with a family matter, so Kyle Clifford will stay in the lineup as the fourth-line left winger, alongside center Brad Richardson and right winger Jordan Nolan. Clifford played Tuesday in Game 1 after he missed more than a month of action. Clifford suffered a concussion in Game 1 of the first-round series against Vancouver. He had been declared healthy and ready to play a while ago, but Darryl Sutter was pleased with the fourth-line combination of Richardson, Fraser and Nolan.

Clifford played 7 minutes, 10 seconds, in Game 2, and took one penalty but the fourth line in general gave the Kings some good shifts. Richardson, in particular, was active, and Clifford fared well considering he didn’t know he was going into the lineup until approximately four hours before the game. Clifford and Sutter talked about the situation and Clifford’s return…

CLIFFORD: “It’s a matter of always being ready. You never know when you’re going to get your chance. … I think your adrenaline carries you most of the way. We’re a high-energy line, so we just kind of get pucks in and finish checks and keep it simple.’’

SUTTER: “Short notice. He knew he was going in the warmup, and then I talked to him at about 2 o’clock, just so that he knew he was playing. He got a few shifts. He was the logical guy to go in for Fraz, because they bring sort of the same kind of thing. He can’t take penalties and he’s going to play hard and he’s got to be responsible on the right side of the puck. If he does that, he gets a chance to play.’’