Kings report: Devin Setoguchi is expected to get back in the lineup Saturday

Forward Devin Setoguchi had a feeling he would be scratched from the Kings’ lineup after he got away from the energetic play that had won him a regular spot. He was honest about his shortcomings, realizing he had stopped using his speed to its best advantage, wasn’t battling hard enough, and wasn’t creating turnovers by getting in on the forecheck.

“When you go up and you watch the game you go, ‘Jeez, how do you not see that?’” he said. “It’s not nice, but when you do get to go and watch, you do get to see plays develop and see where you need to go and what you can do.

“For myself, it’s just a matter of compete level, getting to the areas where the puck is going to be and going to be scored, and being better in my end, getting pucks in and out on the walls. I think the biggest thing is when my level of intensity is up and my battle level is higher, my game is a lot better.”

Setoguchi’s three-game exile is expected to end Saturday, when the Kings face the Ottawa Senators at Staples Center. Setoguchi practiced at right wing Friday with Dustin Brown and center Andy Andreoff, who’s expected to play his first game since he injured his thumb Oct. 30 and underwent surgery.

Coach Darryl Sutter also changed his fourth line to put Dwight King, Nick Shore and Jordan Nolan together, leaving out center Nic Dowd — who is minus seven defensively — and Kyle Clifford. The top two lines were Marian Gaborik-Anze Kopitar-Trevor Lewis, and Tanner Pearson-Jeff Carter-Tyler Toffoli. Sutter had jumbled every line Thursday during the team’s 3-1 loss to Carolina.

Sutter said he wanted to get Setoguchi and Andreoff into the lineup before the team begins a stretch of nine road games, and put them together in a skating-heavy practice to see how they looked. Setoguchi, signed as a free agent in October, had three goals and seven points in 23 games. Andreoff had no points in nine games before he tore a ligament in his right thumb.

Sutter said Setoguchi had been “a little bit caught in the circumstances of the line” before he was benched, a reference to the defensive difficulties experienced by the previous third line of Brown, Dowd and Setoguchi. “That line’s got to produce for us, but it’s also got to be able to play against good players,” Sutter said.

He added he’d prefer to play Andreoff at left wing instead of center, “but we’ve got a lot of left wingers in sort of the same mold. He’s played a little bit, so he’s taken some faceoffs, things like that. It’s nice to have another left-handed guy that if he’s on, if he’s beating somebody, it’s good to have another left-handed centerman.”

Andreoff was activated from injured reserve Sunday but was scratched the last two games. He said he has regained full strength and range of motion in his thumb. “I’ve been skating four weeks and only took that week off after my surgery,” he said. “I feel really good now and ready to go.”

NEXT UP

KINGS VS. OTTAWA SENATORS

When: Saturday, 1 p.m.

On the air: TV: FS West. Radio: 790.

Update: This will be the Kings’ last home game until Dec. 31. They will play nine games on the road, interrupted by the Christmas break. Their loss to Carolina on Thursday dropped their home record to 9-4-1 and was their third loss in their last four games overall.

The Senators defeated the Sharks, 4-2, at San Jose on Wednesday despite being outshot, 37-17. Goaltender Craig Anderson didn’t travel with the team; he’s supporting his wife, Nicholle, during her cancer treatments.

Erik Karlsson, who won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2012 and 2015, led defensemen in scoring through Thursday’s games with 27 points.