Brandt Clarke is back on the ice Friday as the Kings prepare for practice, a very encouraging sign after the hit he took last night.
That's the update from Zach Dooley, who covers the Kings. It lands less than a day after Clarke went down in a 6-5 overtime win over the Senators.
The sheet has nothing on a diagnosis, and no official injury designation is listed for the 23-year-old defenseman. So the only confirmed detail is the one that matters most right now: he's skating.
Clarke finished Thursday with an assist on the power play and 11:37 of ice time. He didn't register a shot on goal.
Los Angeles needed all of it. The Kings are 4-6-2 and sit 29th in the NHL, so a short-handed blue line is the last thing Peter Laviolette wants heading into the weekend.
Clarke has been a key piece of that group. He has 3 goals and 6 assists in 12 games this season, and his 3 power-play assists show how much the Kings lean on him with the man advantage.
Saturday brings a home game against the Sabres, and the Kings will want clarity on his status well before then.
Hayden Hodgson suspension hearing looms over the Kings' scare
The other half of this story is in Ottawa's dressing room. Senators winger Hayden Hodgson got a 5-minute major for boarding Clarke, and Hodgson's hearing with the Department of Player Safety is set for today.
Dooley's report doesn't say anything about how Clarke felt after the hit or what the Kings are planning. It only says he was on the ice, and that tells us plenty.
Here's the sharp take. If the league looks at a hit that ended with a defenseman needing to be checked on and sees only a major penalty, that's a miss. A player on the ice the next day doesn't change what the hit was.
Dooley framed it plainly in his post.
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Clarke's stat line shows 21 penalty minutes this season and a -5 rating, so he's been through some rough nights already. He doesn't need another one on the ice.
The next question is whether Friday's skate becomes a full practice, and then whether he's in the lineup against Buffalo. Los Angeles hasn't said, and the Hodgson ruling could arrive before that answer does.
Should Hayden Hodgson be suspended for his hit on Brandt Clarke, even though Clarke was back on the ice the next day?
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