The 35-year-old forward is third on the Kings in scoring with 14 points (five goals, nine assists). However, he has not had a point in his past 11 games. He did not dress for the Kings' last game, a 4-1 loss at the Calgary Flames on Thursday. The Kings play the Carolina Hurricanes at Staples Center on Sunday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, FS-CR, NHL.TV).
Kovalchuk signed a three-year, $18.75 million contract with the Kings on July 1 after spending the previous five seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League.
He has 830 points (422 goals, 408 assists) in 841 NHL games with the Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils and the Kings. Atlanta selected Kovalchuk with the No. 1 pick in the 2001 NHL Draft.
