In advance of tomorrow’s game against the Sharks, the LA Kings have recalled defenseman Jordan Spence from the Ontario Reign while placing Mikey Anderson on Injured Reserve.
Spence, 21, has been really good in his first season of pro hockey, collecting four goals and 38 assists in 46 games played.
Anderson was injured in the first period of Monday’s game against the Bruins. He left the ice but tried to come back before leaving for good. It looked like he got the wind knocked out of him, but the injury is obviously more severe than initially anticipated.
The injury bug has really bitten the LA Kings lately, with Brendan Lemieux injured in Friday’s game, Viktor Arvidsson in Sunday’s game, and then Mikey on Monday.
As far as what to expect from Spence, he was previously recalled in mid-December but never made his debut. The former 2019 fourth-rounder would appear to be on track to do so on Thursday against the Sharks. Spence is a right-shot defenseman who can also play on the left side, so perhaps Olli Maatta, who has been playing very well lately, moves up to the top pairing with Drew Doughty.
That would leave Spence to pair with either Matt Roy or Sean Durzi.
It will be interesting to see if Spence gets a look on the power-play. This season, he has two goals and 26 points on the power-play with the Reign; his 24 power-play assists lead all AHL rookies.
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