Kopitar’s impending return means another player must go. The Kings decided to waive Anthony Stewart, acquired in the Wesgarth trade.
LAK put Anthony Stewart on waivers. VAN puts Jim Vandermeer on waivers.
— BobMcKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) January 21, 2013
This isn’t much of a surprise, as the Kings were overloaded at forward even before the trade. Stewart knew he was at risk of being waived in Carolina, but didn’t do enough in camp to beat out playoff contributors Jordan Nolan and Brad Richardson.
Kopitar in, Greene out?
Next came the news that Matt Greene is doubtful for Tuesday’s game against Colorado:
#LAKings injury update – GM Dean Lombardi says Matt Greene doubtful for Tuesday in COL but Anze Kopitar looks like a go – thanks @fan590
— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) January 21, 2013
The Drewiske-Greene pairing had a rough outing on Saturday, and Sutter wound up putting Alec Martinez back with his old partner Greene. In their first game back, the re-shuffled defense struggled to adjust.
If Greene is out on Tuesday, could we see the return of Martinez-Voynov? Or will we see Muzzin-Voynov instead? Those two played together in Manchester. I’m not sure who Drewiske would be best paired with. It’s also awkward because Muzzin, Drewiske, and Martinez usually play on the left side.
We don’t know how close Willie Mitchell is to returning, though he skated briefly in their last practice. Let’s hope Greene’s issue isn’t serious.
At least we know that Anze Kopitar is indeed getting close. It would be tremendous to get last year’s top line back together to handle the tough minutes.
Which defense pairs do you want to see on Tuesday?