For those who haven’t been charting it on the calendar, Oscar Moller’s conditioning assignment in Manchester will end after this weekend. I have a message in to Dean Lombardi to see if he has determined what he will do with Moller (return him to the Kings or send him to his WHL team). Monarchs coach Mark Morris, in comments to the Union-Leader, expressed satisfaction with Moller’s play.

“I wish we could have him for the rest of the year,” Morris said of Moller. “He sensed when he first arrived here that there was a little urgency to win, considering we’re in a tight playoff race. He’s fit in greatly, is a dynamite competitor and we’re fortunate to have seen a flash of what he’s going to be.”

To reset the roster a bit…the Kings won’t have to make a move if Moller returns, because he has remained on the roster as a healthy scratch. Based on the way the Kings practiced yesterday (and their likely lineup tonight)…

Frolov-Kopitar-Purcell
O’Sullivan-Stoll-Brown
Calder-Handzus-Simmonds
Ivanans-Armstrong-Richardson
(Scratch: Zeiler)

…there are a couple different ways this could go. 1) Moller takes Purcell’s lineup spot and Purcell goes back to Manchester. 2) Moller goes into the lineup in place of someone such as Armstrong or Richardson, and Purcell stays. 3) Purcell stays, and Moller goes to Seattle. I don’t see the Kings keeping both Moller and Purcell if they’re not both going to be in the lineup on a regular basis. Keeping a young player as a healthy scratch is counter-productive. Given the situation, and his placement in the lineup, this could be quite an important audition game for Purcell tonight…