Kevin Fiala returns as Kings fall 5-2 to Islanders

The roster move came first: the Kings sent Kenny Connors to AHL Ontario Thursday morning to make room on the roster. By early afternoon it was official.

Eric Stephens

@IcemanAthletic

Kevin Fiala will be in the Kings' lineup tonight against the Islanders. First game of any kind since suffering multiple fractures and being stretchered off the ice while playing for Switzerland against Canada at the Olympics.

That was the injury everybody remembers. Fiala broke his left leg on February 13 playing for Switzerland at the Milan Cortina Olympics, when he was hit into the boards by Tom Wilson, who then fell on his leg. He was stretchered off, had surgery in Italy, and needed another procedure in September that kept him out of the start of training camp. Before the Olympics he had 18 goals and 22 assists in 56 games. You don't sit a guy like that on the shelf for long once he's healthy, and LA is in no position to.

Once the puck dropped, the early reports on him were good. He looked fine skating, had no trouble planting on the leg, and his timing was a little off, which is about what you'd expect after this long. Then on the power play he made the kind of pass the Kings have been missing all year.

Zach Dooley

@DooleyLAK

LAK Goal - BANG. That was pretty. Fiala finds Panarin with a seam-pass, Sorokin makes a heck of a save, but Byfield buries the rebound. Huge goal and the Kings still have 1:08 of PP time left. 3-2.

Fiala on one flank and Artemi Panarin on the other is the Kings' power play from here on out, and if that's a preview, it's going to be fun. The problem is that it was about the only fun part of the night. Fiala finished with that assist in 16:37 of ice time, Trevor Moore scored the Kings' other goal, and the Islanders scored 5 times. The Kings are now 2-4-0 on a 7-game homestand that wraps up Saturday against Calgary, and all 3 losses in this skid have come at Crypto.

Peter Laviolette was angrier after this one than he's been all season. He said he didn't like the team's "lack of response," and when someone asked him about the Kings' identity, he basically said they don't have one.

Zach Dooley

@DooleyLAK

Peter Laviolette on the Kings inability to establish an identity early in the season - "We've been far too inconsistent. We're not winning games. Any identity you want to instill in a team, you want to be in a successful way. We're not anywhere near where we need to be."

Drew Doughty started his scrum with "I don't even know what to say," then put it on the players and not on the system or the new coaches. Fiala was the only guy in the room who sounded upbeat. He said he loved finally playing with Panarin, credited Laviolette for how he communicated with him during the rehab, and was honest about how hard it was to get back.

Andrew Knoll

@AndrewKnollNHL

"It's more complicated than a lot of people think, about this injury" "It was a little bit of a mix (of physical and mental management). I felt ready, but after so much time missed, we can practice so much, games are always a little bit different." #GoKingsGo Fiala

Fiala says the Kings will turn this around if they believe in the system and in the players they have. Getting him back helps, but the Kings are 0-9-1 when they score 2 goals or fewer, and that has happened in 10 of their last 15. Calgary on Saturday closes the homestand. One guy covering the team is already calling the next 10 games the kind of stretch that could decide where this franchise goes next, so Fiala's 2nd game matters a lot more than a 2nd game usually would.