King to IR; McBain, LoVerde to Ontario; 23-man roster set

The Los Angeles Kings placed forward Dwight King on injured reserve with a lower body injury and assigned defensemen Jamie McBain and Vincent LoVerde to AHL-Ontario earlier today. With Brian O’Neill’s trade to New Jersey, the Kings’ 23-man roster has been solidified.

Forwards (13)
11 – Anze Kopitar
12 – Marian Gaborik
13 – Kyle Clifford
15 – Andy Andreoff
17 – Milan Lucic
19 – Jordan Weal
21 – Nick Shore
22 – Trevor Lewis
23 – Dustin Brown
70 – Tanner Pearson
71 – Jordan Nolan
73 – Tyler Toffoli
77 – Jeff Carter

Defensemen (8)
2 – Matt Greene
3 – Brayden McNabb
6 – Jake Muzzin
7 – Derek Forbort
8 – Drew Doughty
10 – Christian Ehrhoff
27 – Alec Martinez
55 – Jeff Schultz

Goalies (2)
1 – Jhonas Enroth
32 – Jonathan Quick

Injured Reserve (1)
74 – Dwight King

Leave it to Sports Chaos to alter the makeup of the team after the roster appeared to be shaping up differently heading into the final preseason game. Though I got the sense that the team had previously anticipated entering the season with 14 forwards and seven defensemen, the injuries to Jake Muzzin and Matt Greene (which are not expected to be major; Muzzin should play in Wednesday’s opener) changed the environment in which the roster would be shaped. With King unavailable, and only one extra forward currently on the roster, expect the club’s lines against San Jose on Wednesday to shape up thusly:

Lucic-Kopitar-Gaborik
Pearson-Carter-Toffoli
Brown-Shore-Lewis
Clifford-Andreoff-Nolan

Muzzin-Doughty
Schultz-Ehrhoff
McNabb-Martinez

Keep in mind I was in meetings today, so this alignment is based off yesterday’s line rushes. In any event, the roster has been set, and Derek Forbort will open the season with the club by providing insurance on the back end as two defensemen continue to work their way back to prime game shape after suffering injuries midway through the preseason slate.