Kempe not ruled out for Saturday; Quick practices with group, approaches return

Several LA Kings injury updates:

Adrian Kempe is officially day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He didn’t participate in a lengthy practice Friday, but hasn’t been ruled out for Saturday’s game against Vancouver at Staples Center. “We’re hoping he’ll play tomorrow. We’ll see how that goes, though,” Willie Desjardins said after practice. A better understanding of whether Kempe might be able to face the Canucks will be gained throughout the day on Saturday.

Jonathan Quick, who underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus on October 30, participated in his first full-team practice on Friday after passing through several injury checkpoints that included getting onto the ice and facing shots in a more controlled environment. Today’s practice, which extended over an hour, included ample special teams work. Quick was tested during the skate, at one point using the broad side of his stick to reach out and rob Tyler Toffoli with an impressively competitive save that drew the notice and hollers of his teammates.

He’s getting pretty close, though no exact date has been shared as to when he might return. “I can’t get you because every day, it’s kind of a building thing, but we’re very happy with his progress. We’re very happy with where he’s at,” Desjardins said. “If there’s no setbacks, then I would expect to see him fairly soon in the lineup.”

He’s approximately a week out, give or take a day. As has been shared, December 1 is the general ballpark as to when he might return. Los Angeles plays at Calgary on November 30 and hosts Carolina on December 2. It wouldn’t be a shock at all to see him travel on the upcoming Western Canada road trip, which begins with a game at Vancouver on Tuesday and continues with an Edmonton-Calgary back-to-back on the 29th and 30th.

If Kempe is not able to go, and the Kings wish to maintain a lineup balance of 12 forwards and six defensemen, they’ll need to make a roster move to recall a forward. I’m told that there won’t be a roster move made on Friday. Related to this decision is Ontario’s home game against Bakersfield at 7:00 p.m. tonight at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

A practice report and a Teach Me feature will follow shortly.

-Lead photo via Harry How/Getty Images