The Kings activated forward Trevor Lewis from the injured-reserve list in time for Friday’s game against the Red Wings in Detroit and returned forward David Van der Gulik to the Manchester (N.H.) of the American Hockey League. Lewis played in the Kings’ season-opening game Oct. 8, suffered an upper-body injury and then sat out the next nine games. Van der Gulik played one game, Thursday’s contest against the Penguins in Pittsburgh. He has two goals in five games with Manchester.
The Kings will be at something close to full strength when they face the Penguins on Thursday in Pittsburgh. After playing one man shy of the usual 20-man roster for Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers because of injuries, a suspension and salary-cap issues, the Kings finally got some relief Thursday. They recalled forward David Van der Gulik from their American Hockey League team in Manchester, N.H., and he’s expected to be in the lineup Thursday.
The Kings were granted an emergency roster exemption by the NHL after playing with only 19 healthy and eligible players Tuesday, which enabled them to recall Van der Gulik from Manchester. Otherwise, they would be forced to continue playing with only 11 forwards while Marian Gaborik, Anze Kopitar and Trevor Lewis recover from upper-body injuries, They will have 12 healthy bodies for Thursday’s game.
The Kings also are without suspended defenseman Slava Voynov, who was banned indefinitely by the NHL after his domestic violence arrest Oct. 20.
The Kings sent left wing David Van der Gulik to their American Hockey League team in Manchester, N.H., on Tuesday. Their roster is down to 28 players with several more cuts to come before they open the regular season Oct. 8 against the San Jose Sharks.
The Kings signed right wing Adam Cracknell and left wing David Van der Gulik to one-season contracts Tuesday. Cracknell, 29, played 65 regular season games in the NHL, all with the St. Louis Blues over the last four seasons. Van der Gulik, 31, has played in 48 games in the NHL in his career while with the Colorado Avalanche and the Calgary Flames.