Opportunities arise for Voynov, Loktionov

Waiting must have been the hardest part for two talented Los Angeles Kings prospects. Slava Voynov and Andrei Loktionov, already armed with encouraging, though brief, NHL performances, will be back in the lineup when the Kings take part in the season's first two installments of the Freeway Faceoff against the Anaheim Ducks at STAPLES Center on Wednesday and Honda Center on Thursday. Voynov returns to the Los Angeles lineup to fill in for Alec Martinez, who was placed on injured reserve Monday due to an upper body injury sustained in a hit by Minnesota's Warren Peters, who was assessed a five-minute major but no suspension on the play. Drawing praise from Head Coach Terry Murray, Martinez remained in the game to score a power play goal early in the second period of Saturday's 5-2 win. Recording two goals and an assist all of which came in a 5-3 win at Dallas on October 27 while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time in five games with the Kings earlier this season, Voynov has shown that he's quite prepared to serve in a versatile role for the team, not a depth defenseman shielded from difficult matchups. "It's about fitting in here, and becoming a part of this team right now," Murray said. "Voynov and Loktionov came out of the training camp, and everybody's on the same page playing structurally in systems. That makes it an easy adjustment, and that's why we do it. Because of situations like these." Voynov, who cited ice time and his power play contributions as what he was encouraged by in his earlier stint, will be paired with Willie Mitchell, his former defensive partner who has shown good communication skills in working with young defensemen. Loktionov, on the other hand, will see a different forward grouping from the one with which he recorded seven points in 19 games a season ago before an assignment to Manchester and subsequent shoulder injury derailed his 2010-11 season. Instead of Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams, he'll skate with Mike Richards and Dustin Brown. "They're good players. They can find me anywhere. I just have to leave my stick on the ice and open up," Loktionov said about his linemates. Naturally a center and one who led the Manchester Monarchs with 14 points through 17 games in such a role Loktionov will once again be shifted to left wing, a transition that Loktionov said "should be a little easier for me" due to his experience on that side last season. Loktionov's skill and offensive intuition have never been questioned. Well-regarded as one of the Kings' most intriguing prospects for his offensive zone creativity, he's still battling to find the consistency and production necessary to occupy a role in the National Hockey League that fits his skill set. "I had many different scenarios in my mind of how it would all come together in the summertime thinking that Loktionov would really feed off his opportunity from last year," Murray said. "I felt his training camp was off, quite frankly. In the exhibition games, in the practices, I saw some hesitation, I saw the player not handling the puck, not transporting the puck through the middle of the ice and creating in the offensive zone as I had envisioned it would be. So, with that, that's where it ended up at the start of the year back in Manchester. Now it's a situation where I need a player to fit in a position. We've got down in the middle pretty well set. So if he's going to fit in and be a player for us he's up on IR, replacing a player. We're looking for offense, we're looking for goals, and we feel that with Loktionov fitting in there now he's going to give us that same look, creativity." After proving much that there is to prove in Manchester the two 21 year olds have combined for 176 American Hockey League points, and Voynov was an All-Star last year it's now about making the most of the situation presented them. "This is an opportunity for them to show us what they can do," Murray said. "They're up on an IR, but they're not kids. They've been pros now for a couple of years. So it's an opportunity to show the organization where their game is at and how they're going to fit in. Impress us, and force us to do something. Force us to think about it. It's a great opportunity to them." NOTES: Murray praised the efforts Alec Martinez provided on Saturday after his hit from Warren Peters. "I was very surprised that he came back and played the other night. He really showed me a lot of character, sucked up quite a bit of discomfort to be able to come back and play and score a huge goal. It was good for him," Murray said...Jonathan Quick will start for the Kings against Anaheim on Wednesday. The defensive pairings will be DoughtyJohnson, VoynovMitchell and Scuderi-Greene ... Sunday's Tip-A-King event raised more than 200,000 for the Kings Care Foundation