This post has been updated. See below for details.
VANCOUVER, Canada -- Greetings from Vancouver, where it’s chilly but sunny.
The big news from the Kings’ morning skate at Rogers Arena was that they planned to activate forward Jeff Carter off injured reserve before Monday night’s game against the Canucks, and they will have Carter skate in the warmups with 12 other forwards. If all goes well, Carter -- who has been out of the lineup because of a foot injury -- would play for the first time since Oct. 30.
Carter had five goals and nine points in 14 games before he was injured.
The Kings would have to make room for him on their roster, and it’s likely they would place goaltender Jonathan Quick on injured reserve. Quick (groin strain) isn’t expected back until around Christmas.
In the morning skate, Carter was on the right side with Dwight King on the left and Mike Richards in the middle. Tyler Toffoli, who had been playing a lot to the right of Richards, skated alongside Daniel Carcillo and Jarret Stoll.
Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams were reunited, and the fourth line appeared to be Kyle Clifford, Colin Fraser and Jordan Nolan. That would leave Tanner Pearson and Linden Vey as the extras.
“We’ll activate Jeff today,” Coach Darryl Sutter said. “We’ll have an extra forward in the warmup. We’ve got room to do it.”
Another tip that Carter might play is that his father, Jim, is among the relatives who accompanied the team on this trip to Vancouver and San Jose.
Seventeen fathers and one brother are riding the buses and planes and sharing hotel rooms with the players, and the group had a father-son dinner Sunday night. Jordan Nolan’s father, Ted, is kind of busy coaching the Buffalo Sabres, so his brother, Brandon, made the trip. For the father of goalie Martin Jones, it wasn’t a long trip: Harvey Jones is the vice president of construction for Canucks Sports and Entertainment in Vancouver.
Brown said having his father, Bryan, on the journey has brought back memories of the days when he and his father would travel together to games and tournaments.
“It’s a little different rooming with him again,” Dustin Brown said, smiling. “It’s fun. It’s kind of like it was back when I was a kid. It has the same feeling, being in a hotel on the road. But I don’t think the hotel was nearly as nice when we were younger.”
[UPDATED, 3:31 p.m.: The Kings have officially activated Carter for Monday's game.]
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