This and that: Kyle Clifford, Jordan Subban, Matt Johnson, video

Good afternoon from Midtown Manhattan, Insiders. There are several notes and bits to pass along that weren’t originally posted at the time because of other reporting and broadcasting commitments, but just so they go in the Official LAKI Book, here they are:

KYLE CLIFFORD HAS BEEN ACTIVATED. You know this, because you saw him play 9:22 against New Jersey two nights ago. (Or, you saw him play 5:38 through two periods and thought, “You know? I’ve probably had enough of this game.”) “It was definitely good to be back, but … it’s not one we’re particularly proud of and I think this group just needs to have better starts and play that full 60,” he said Tuesday night. “We can’t get off to the starts we had.” Clifford has three goals and seven points in 12 career regular season and playoff games against the Rangers, whom the Kings face Friday.

JORDAN SUBBAN IS NOT YET AVAILABLE. Ontario has returned home after a 3-2-0 road trip through Tucson and the two Texas teams but will still be without Jordan Subban, acquired in the Nic Dowd trade, for the immediate future. (He has not yet played for the Reign.) Via correspondence with the team, Subban is out with an upper-body injury, which had been sustained while he was playing for the Utica Comets. The team was aware of the injury when it traded for him, and it was likely related to one particular incident.

Subban missed his last two games with Utica before being traded because he was injured Dec. 1 against Bridgeport.
Injury happened on what the AHL ruled was a slew-foot incident. https://t.co/yF5S8N7Ox5

— Ben Birnell (@OD_Birnell) December 12, 2017

There’s no firm timetable on his return, but a team source indicated that it should be roughly two more weeks before he gets going again. Nothing I’ve heard has given the indication that it’s anything particularly serious.

In their road trip finale last night, Ontario defeated Texas, 4-2, on a game-winning power play goal from Kevin Gravel with 9:02 remaining. Matt Moulson assisted on all four Reign goals and now has seven assists and a plus-three rating in three games since joining the club. Michael Amadio had a goal and an assist and now has three goals and six points over a personal three-game point streak.

A HARROWING STORY ABOUT FORMER KINGS FORWARD MATT JOHNSON. One of the more sobering stories this season is this work from TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead and TSN Feature Producer Matt Cade about the former Los Angeles enforcer.

-Lead photo via Bruce Bennett/Getty Images