Adrian Kempe out, Martin Chromiak makes Kings debut

This started out sounding like nothing. Then the wording changed.

Andrew Knoll

@AndrewKnollNHL

"Maintenance day" becomes "day-to-day" for 🧃

Zach Dooley

@DooleyLAK

Adrian Kempe is out day-to-day and will not play today against Buffalo. Martin Chromiak will make his NHL debut.

A maintenance day is a coach being careful. Day-to-day means something is actually wrong. The Kings haven't said what the injury is, only that Kempe misses at least this game against the Sabres. That hurts. He had 3 goals and 8 points through 12 games, with 41 shots on net and 18 hits, so they're losing one of their busiest forwards for at least a night.

The guy getting the call is Martin Chromiak. LA recalled him from AHL Ontario on Thursday after a hot start down there: 6 goals and 2 assists in 9 games. It's his first NHL call-up, and he's on a two-way deal he signed with the Kings in June. Peter Laviolette made it clear he isn't putting the kid on the fourth line to babysit him.

Zach Dooley

@DooleyLAK

Laviolette on Chromiak: "When you recall people from the AHL, my thought is to try & place them in a position of success & make adjustments from there....he's a guy who brings speed, skill, the ability to score goals. We'll try & slot him in a position to take advantage of it."

Zach Dooley

@DooleyLAK

Adrian Kempe is out day-to-day and will not play today against Buffalo. Martin Chromiak will make his NHL debut.

"Place them in a position of success" is the key line. Plenty of coaches give a rookie 8 minutes of safe shifts and hope he stays out of the way. Laviolette is saying the opposite: Chromiak is here because he can score, so he gets minutes where scoring is the job. The line rushes back that up.

Zach Dooley

@DooleyLAK

Today’s @LAKings Line Rushes –   Panarin – Laferriere – Chromiak Moore – Byfield – Perry Lee – Laughton – Armia Haula – Helenius – Ward   Gustafsson – Clarke Edmundson - Doughty Anderson – Dumoulin   Forsberg Kuemper

There it is. Chromiak goes right onto the top line with Panarin and Laferriere, in the spot Kempe would normally take. Moore, Byfield and Perry make up the second line, the rest of the forwards and the 3 D pairs look normal, and Forsberg and Kuemper are the 2 goalies listed. The kid also led the team out for his rookie lap in warmups, which is about as Kings as a Halloween night can get.

The Mayor | Team MM

@mayorNHL

Warmies for Chromiak NHL debut #GoKingsGo 📸 @aloimages

What to watch: whether Chromiak can keep up with Panarin and actually get shots off. That's his whole pitch, and it's why he's on that line. After that, it's Kempe's status. Day-to-day could mean he's back next game or it could drag on. If it drags and Chromiak scores tonight, Laviolette has a real call to make. If Kempe's back quickly, the kid probably heads back to Ontario having at least proved he belongs in the conversation.