Getty Images The Los Angeles Kings announced the return of their leading scorer on Tuesday, activating Anze Kopitar from injured reserve for tonight’s game against Colorado at the Pepsi Center.
Kopitar, 25, had been out of action with a knee sprain suffered playing with Mora IK of the Swedish second division during the lockout.
He proceeded to miss LA’s opening-day game against Chicago — a 5-2 loss at Staples — but was able to partake in the pregame ring and banner-raising ceremony.
Not that it helped any.
“It definitely wasn’t fun,” he told NHL.com. “But it is what it is. I’d much rather play in 47 (of the truncated 48-game regular season) than to get hurt and be sidelined for a lot longer.”
Sounds as though Kopitar will resume his first-line duties, centering Dustin Brown and Justin Williams. That trio was huge for the Kings during their Stanley Cup championship run, combining for 55 points over 20 games.
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It’s not clear if they will be available on Thursday.
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The match starts at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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PHT Morning Skate: Where Stars look to expand their footprint
May 22, 2013, 7:13 AM EDT
AP
Wednesday’s collection of links.
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He was pretty good.
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Series tied 2-2.
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You be the judge.
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An apology was issued.
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Discuss: Sharks take Game 4, even semifinal series against Kings
May 22, 2013, 12:54 AM EDT
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Turning into a heck of a series.
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Lots happening in this one. More highlights coming, by the way.
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Been dealing with plenty of traffic in front of him all throughout playoffs.
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Video: Kings’ Brown shaken up after collision with Sharks’ Marleau
May 21, 2013, 11:14 PM EDT
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Does the league take a look at this?
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Suddenly a scorer, Bruins’ Boychuk wants to meet The Great One
May 21, 2013, 11:07 PM EDT
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Where did this scoring come from?
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The comments are now open.
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Both make their series debuts tonight.
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That’s a long way up to do that.
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This might be getting old to him by now.
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AP
He was banged up roughly in Game 3.
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A 13-percent rise from last year.
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Off to a surprising 2-1 series lead over Chicago.
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He’ll replace Peter Horachek, who was fired yesterday.
