Kings forward Quinton Byfield is expected to return Wednesday against the Predators, team editorial content manager Zach Dooley reports. The 21-year-old missed the last two games with an illness and was listed as day-to-day.
Unfortunately, underwhelming play from the rest of the squad has the Kings reeling. The team is 2-8-6 in their last 16 games and is now in a three-way tie for the two Western Conference Wild Card spots with the Blues and Predators. That makes Byfield’s return tonight a key piece of news ahead of Los Angeles’ most consequential game of the season thus far.
- Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier will be a game-time decision with an undisclosed injury, head coach Andrew Brunette said (via 102.5 ESPN Nashville’s Nick Kieser). Carrier, 27, skated 8:01 against the Senators on Monday before leaving the game in the second period. If he draws in, it’s projected to be a second-pairing role alongside Ryan McDonagh. A 2015 fourth-round pick, the Predators re-signed Carrier to a one-year, $2.5MM deal last summer to walk him to UFA status next July. He’s rebounding well from a difficult 2022-23 campaign, posting four goals and 10 assists in 46 games while controlling 50% of Corsi events at even strength. His ice time is up slightly, averaging 18:09 per game compared to last season’s 17:53.