Greene “coming along” but out tonight; Stevens on Forbort

Matt Greene said that he’s “coming along, getting better” but won’t play Sunday night when the Colorado Avalanche visit Staples Center for the first of the clubs’ three meetings this season.

“I think I still need some time to get going to where I’m healthy and effective,” Greene said. He had suffered an upper-body injury during a preseason game at Colorado on September 27 and though he played in Los Angeles’ first three regular season games, did not dress in the 2-1 overtime win against Minnesota Friday night. Darryl Sutter had noted on October 14 that the current ailment was “related” to his preseason injury.

After tonight’s game, the Kings have three full days without a game before traveling to San Jose for a game against the Sharks on Thursday, October 22. Though there’s a chance Greene could be on the mend by then, it’s still too early to start pinpointing when exactly his next game will come.

“I’ve got to talk to the trainers, see what they think,” he said. “But I think just the main thing is being able to stay on the ice with the guys and keep your timing going, and stay in shape in practices.”

With Greene out of the lineup, Derek Forbort will make his second career appearance. Los Angeles’ first round draft pick in 2010, Forbort logged 11:33 of ice time in his NHL debut and was whistled for a questionable tripping minor.

John Stevens, on Derek Forbort:
It was just a first game for him. I think it’s important for any young player to have a reference point. He’s played preseason games and played well. Hadn’t played in a regular season game, which is a totally different animal in terms of the speed of the game and the lineups your facing, but it was a good first start for him. I think we’ve had Derek long enough where we have a good feel for what he is as a player He’s a big guy who has good feet, defends really well, and he’s got good puck skills where he should be a good puck mover for us. Those are the types of things that we want him to build his game on, just be a really good defender, have a bit of firmness to his game and have an ability to make good plays with the puck that gets us out of the zone quickly.

Stevens, on Forbort using his size:
Well, he’s a big guy. I think his size is going to be an advantage. I think he needs to use his size to be a good defender, but he has really good feet and he has a good stick, and that should translate into being a good defender. It’s a good league and there are a lot of good defenders that are going to require a guy to be a really sound, fundamental defender, and I think Derek’s got a skill set that allows him to do that, and that’s kind of what our focus is with him right now.

at Staples Center on October 16, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

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