The Kings experienced travel delays due to a blizzard in Denver that led to the postponement of Monday’s game and limited eventfulness thus far this week.

The team did skate Tuesday for around 15 minutes despite it being a scheduled day off, an idea that Coach Todd McLellan said came from team captain Anze Kopitar and the veteran leadership group. McLellan said he felt the skate’s quality carried over into Wednesday’s game against the St. Louis Blues, which the Kings won, 4-1.

Forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan and goalie Jonathan Quick made progress with their respective injuries during the unplanned but perhaps welcome layoff. Quick dressed as Cal Petersen’s backup on Wednesday and Anderson-Dolan had two assists in his first appearance since Feb. 18. The Kings’ 21-year-old Anderson Dolan had been out with an undisclosed injury, but he jumped right back in on a line with Carl Grundström and Trevor Moore.

“I felt good,” Anderson-Dolan said. “Just trying to get the physical part out of the way and throw a couple of hits. To get your timing back, you can’t really simulate that in practice. I felt pretty good for being out for a while, but a long way to go to get to where I want to be.”

Winger Dustin Brown missed his second straight game due to an upper-body injury, but defenseman Olli Maatta returned from a two-game COVID-19 protocol-related absence.

Elsewhere around the league – and around the world – there were plenty of notable events this week.

RIVERA MAKES HISTORY

Francisco X. Rivera has seen his role expand rapidly within the Kings organization since he began calling their games in Spanish on the radio in 2018.

Already a community liaison and trusted adviser to the Kings, he made history Saturday when he called a game for the Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Ontario Reign.

“I spoke to the NHL and it is believed that I (was) the first Latino play-by-play announcer to call a professional hockey game in English,” Rivera said.

Rivera, who grew up in Mexico City and attended Long Beach State, has been a fixture in the Spanish-language sports media. He will call at least one more Reign game this season while continuing his duties in Spanish with analyst Nano Cortes on Tu Liga 1330 (AM).

SABRES MAKE A CHANGE … WITH MORE TO COME?

The Buffalo Sabres fired Coach Ralph Krueger on Wednesday amid a 12-game losing streak with no shortage of other ignominious statistics associated with the skid.

The Sabres loaded up on offense with the additions of 2018 Most Valuable Player Taylor Hall and veteran center Eric Staal, who powered Carolina to a Stanley Cup title in 2006. With center Jack Eichel and high-priced winger Jeff Skinner as well as an offensive-minded defense corps, the Sabres appeared poised to put up big numbers.

Instead, they ranked last in goals per game despite having a respectable power play. Their five-on-five play has been atrocious offensively. They haven’t exactly shored it up with defense either: Buffalo ranks 28th out of 31 teams in goals-against average.

During their slump, the Sabres were shut out four times, they scored two or fewer goals in 10 of the 12 losses and allowed five or more goals in half of their defeats.

Kings coach Todd McLellan was a candidate for the Sabres’ job but opted for the Kings’ vacancy instead before last season.

Krueger’s dismissal immediately amplified rumors about the Sabres making significant moves prior to the April 12 deadline. First-year General Manager Kevyn Adams said the team was “open to anything and everything,” including dealing Hall, who signed a one-year deal.

The Sabres named Don Granato their interim head coach. Granato has also worked in the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis organizations. He is the brother of former Kings winger Tony Granato and former U.S. women’s national team captain Cammi Granato.

RUSSIAN PLAYER DIES AFTER SUSTAINING INJURY

Timur Faizutdinov, a 19-year-old defenseman for the junior squad of Dynamo St. Petersburg, died Tuesday after sustaining a head injury during a March 12 game against Yaroslavl Lokmotiv’s junior side.

On a seemingly innocuous play – a relatively soft clearing attempt near the blue line – Faizutdinov was struck in the head and neck area by the puck. He was hospitalized and intubated for three days before succumbing to his injuries.

It was a harrowing moment for Russian fans, who have experienced tragedy in recent years. The New York Rangers’ first-round pick Alexei Cherepanov died of heart failure after a casual collision with a teammate, NHL legend Jaromir Jagr, during a 2008 game in Podolsk. In 2011, Yaroslavl, Russia and the hockey world were rocked by a plane crash that killed the entire Lokomotiv team, including former Kings star Pavol Demitra and former Ducks defenseman Ruslan Salei.

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