Darryl Sutter confirmed that neither Jake Muzzin (undisclosed) nor Trevor Lewis (mid-to-upper body) will be available for tomorrow’s game against the Coyotes in Glendale, Arizona.
“They’re both frustrating injuries,” Sutter said after the team practiced in El Segundo on Friday. “There’s nothing you can do about it. When they’re ready, they’re ready. I mean, Muzz is doing everything. It’s frustrating.”
Brayden McNabb will continue to receive minutes alongside Drew Doughty when Los Angeles returns to action tomorrow, and Jordan Nolan is the most likely to step in for Lewis. Andy Andreoff is also an option up front.
With Rangers defenseman Dan Boyle suffering a broken hand in the team’s season opener last night, the list of walking wounded around the league continued to grow.
“Well, I’m not concerned about them,” Sutter said. “I’m concerned with ours because it puts such a dent when your roster is set and you’re a cap team and already before Game 1 and going into Game 2 you’re adjusting your lineup. It’s challenging.”
The injury situations tightens up the team’s options in advance of a back-to-back weekend slate that continues when the Kings host the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday at Staples Center.
“I look forward to it,” Sutter said. “I like back-to-backs. Practice gets old for the players too, and it’s not a tough travel part of it. The turnaround is tough because they haven’t played back-to-backs. There were back-to-backs last night.”
“It’s kind of funny, it’s our lightest month, but our second and third games are back-to-back. When you look at it, it’s sort of funny.”
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