On top of debuting Artemi Panarin, the Kings welcomed back a pair of players for their game tonight against Vegas. The team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Mikey Anderson and forward Alex Turcotte have been activated off injured reserve. After recently moving Kevin Fiala to IR, they had two open roster spots so no other corresponding moves needed to be made.
Anderson is having a quiet year offensively (many are on the Kings, who sit 31st in goals scored), but he continues to hold down a top-four shutdown role. The 26-year-old has two goals and seven assists in 54 games this season but is second on the team in blocks with 77. Anderson is also averaging more than 20 minutes per game for the sixth straight season.
Anderson was sidelined with an upper-body injury at the beginning of the month against Carolina. However, thanks to the Olympic break, he ultimately only missed two games.
Turcotte’s absence was a little longer as he missed an extra week. The 24-year-old has been a regular on the fourth line in Los Angeles this season but has also seen his production go in the wrong direction. After picking up a career-high 25 points in 68 games in 2024-25, he has been limited to just three goals and nine assists in 49 outings this season. However, he’s winning nearly 56% of his faceoffs, which is allowing him to contribute even with the drop in production.