Kings Bring in Anders Lindback to Backup the Backups
- Updated: October 27, 2016
Can’t have enough goalies these days in the NHL, especially if you are the Los Angeles Kings.
After the loss of their elite goaltender Jonathan Quick in the first game of the season on October 12 and then backup goalie Jeff Zatkoff before the fourth game – both to groin injuries – the LA team has brought in 28-year-old journeyman Anders Lindback on a “short-term contract,” according to NBC Sports Joey Alfieri. Said Sportsnet’s John Shannon, Lindback will report to the AHL Ontario Reign as a Professional Tryout (PTO).
After a decent performance in training camp with the New Jersey Devils, Lindback was released when the team chose to go with Cory Schneider and Keith Kinkaid. The Kings have padded their roster with Jack Campbell (brought up from the Reign on October 22) and NHL veteran Peter Budaj, who performed exceptionally with the Reign last year and has gone 3 – 0 in the previous three OT victories for the Kings.
Today Ontario Reign Insider Lindsay Czarnecki reported that according to a hockey operations source, the Swedish-born Lindback’s visa status could take 7 to 10 days to clear, though efforts are being made to expedite the process.
Lindback came up in 2011 with the Nashville Predators where he had arguably his best season going 11-5-2 with a 2.60 goals-against-average (GAA). Even though he’s only broken even on wins once since that rookie season, his career stats include a respectable 2.87 GAA and .904 save percentage. He spent 2015-16 with the Arizona Coyotes where he posted a 5-7-1 record with a 3.11 GAA in 19 games.
As part of this season’s Coyote preseason, Lindback played half of a game in a 2-0 shutout of the Flyers, turning away 15 shots. It was the first action he had since suffering an achilles injury in February.
Reported by Chris Ryan of NJ Advance Media, Lindback said, “I felt pretty good for not playing in a game for seven, eight months. It’s been a long time. It was fun, and I enjoyed it. I got a couple shots early, which always helps to get into the game.”
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