Kings' Nic Dowd: Gets chance to play Tuesday

Dowd got into the lineup for the first time this season in Tuesday's loss to the Wild, skating 9:03 and recording a minus-2 rating with no points and no shots.

Analysis:

On the bright side, the 26-year-old rookie won six of his nine faceoffs. Dowd was productive for AHL Ontario last year -- an assist-heavy 48 points in 58 games -- but doesn't project to see enough of an offensive role to make anything resembling that sort of impact in Los Angeles. It's quite possible that his latest stay in the lineup will only be one game long.