West Notes: Iafallo, Dumba, Mrazek

The Kings are expected to welcome back winger Alex Iafallo to the lineup on their upcoming road trip, reports Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider.  The 28-year-old suffered a lower-body injury back in mid-October after a strong start that saw him pick up at least a point per game in each of his first four contests and has been out since then.  Last season, Iafallo was tied for fifth on the team in goals (17) while finishing sixth in points with 37 and his return will give Los Angeles another proven forward in the middle six to bolster what has already been a strong offense this season with the team averaging just over 3.4 goals per game so far.  He skated on the third line in practice today and could be available as soon as Tuesday’s contest against Ottawa.

More from the West:

• Matt Dumba’s future with the Wild has seemingly been in question for years now as trade speculation has been plentiful but he has always stuck around. However, Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic feel (subscription link) that it will be different this time around and that Minnesota is likely to move the 28-year-old by the trade deadline in March.  Dumba has struggled this season and has just seven points in 24 games and with prospect Brock Faber not far away from being NHL-ready (he’s expected to turn pro after his college season ends), it’s possible that they’d eye him for Dumba’s spot, allowing them to reallocate his $6MM elsewhere.  Even with him struggling, Dumba would be an interesting addition to the trade block over the next few months.
• Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek will be out at least a week after suffering a groin injury in last night’s contest against the Rangers, relays Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). The veteran is no stranger to dealing with groin trouble over his career although fortunately for him, this one appears to be a shorter-term issue.  The fact he’ll be out for at least a week will make him eligible to be placed on IR which would give Chicago an extra roster spot.  They had one available yesterday but used that to bring up goalie Jaxson Stauber earlier today.