Penguins At Kings Preview: Rakell Takes Leave, Pens Support Fire Relief Efforts

Currently five points back of the second wild card spot, the Pittsburgh Penguins look to earn two points when they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.

Unfortunately, they will have to get it done without one of their best players.

Earlier, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said that forward Rickard Rakell returned to Pittsburgh for family reasons and will not play Monday against the Kings.

Rakell has a team-leading 23 goals, which is tied for ninth in the NHL overall. The Penguins will need to find a way to offset the loss of Rakell’s production both on the power play and during five-on-five, which will be a challenge.

This is how the lines looked at the morning skate without Rakell in the mix:

Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic – fresh off an historic performance on Friday against the Buffalo Sabres, when he became the only netminder in NHL history to record a goal and an assist in the same game – will get the nod for the Penguins against Los Angeles, who will be playing their first home game since the catastrophic wildfires started spreading a few weeks ago.

“I think there will be a lot of emotion in that building for obvious reasons,” Sullivan said. “And we’re going to have to be prepared for the drop of the puck, the start of the game, and making sure that we bring a certain level of controlled emotion and urgency to our game. Obviously, this will be an emotional event for all those reasons.”

Forward Blake Lizotte – who spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with the Kings – is returning to Los Angeles for the first time since his arrival in Pittsburgh. He said the fires serve as a stark reminder of the things that are truly important – the things that helped him make memories while playing in L.A.

“I think you realize that you can put hockey aside for a second, look around, and realize what this city’s gone through in the last…