LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Fiala was back in the Los Angeles Kings’ lineup for Wednesday night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The forward was a healthy scratch Tuesday at San Jose after missing a team meeting.
“Kev and I talked about it. He made a mistake, felt bad about it. We move on,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said before Wednesday’s game. “It might look like, ‘Oh, he got benched, and now he misses (a meeting).’ I’m not worried about Kevin. Kevin’ll get it back. He cares a lot.”
Fiala has four goals and six points in nine games, but Hiller is concerned about the amount of penalties Fiala is taking. He has 12 penalty minutes, including four in last Saturday’s game against Utah.
Fiala — who had his third career 70-point campaign with 29 goals and 73 points last season — was benched during the third period of the Utah game due to picking up two penalties.
“The disappointing thing, I think, right now, he’s taking too many minors,” Hiller said. “He had a great run the second half, he reeled that in. And I know he had such high expectations for himself this year, even higher than he’s probably ever had, and just hasn’t started that way yet.”
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