The 19-year-old center left early in the third period of a 4-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday following a hit by Coyotes forward Christian Fischer. He will be reevaluated in the coming weeks.
"I saw 'Q' in the morning," coach Todd McLellan told the Kings website after a 6-3 win at the Anaheim Ducks. "He hadn't been through all of his tests and whatnot, but he was in pretty good spirits. He was around the rink and around the guys, which was good."
The Kings begin the regular season at home against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 14.
Byfield, the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, has one assist and is minus-2 in four preseason games after he had one assist in six NHL games last season. He also scored 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 32 games for Ontario in the American Hockey League.
Jaret Anderson-Dolan,
Arthur Kaliyev
,
Alex Turcotte
and Rasmus Kupari were recalled from Ontario of the AHL for the game Wednesday; Kaliyev had a hat trick and an assist, Turcotte had a goal and an assist, and Anderson-Dolan had two assists. The forward prospects may be asked to contribute early this season for a team with a realistic chance to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017-18.
The Kings will compete in the Pacific Division with the expansion Seattle Kraken and four teams (Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks) that did not qualify for the playoffs last season. They added forwards Phillip Danault and Viktor Arvidsson to a veteran core of forwards Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown, defenseman Drew Doughty and goalie Jonathan Quick. They were 21-28-7 last season, sixth in the eight-team Honda West Division, where the top four teams made the playoffs.
Turcotte, 20, and Kaliyev, 20, each made his professional debut in the AHL last season. Turcotte scored 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in 32 games. Kaliyev led Ontario in goals (14), assists (17) and points (31) in 40 games, including 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his final 10 regular-season games. He also scored a goal in his one NHL game.
The Kings also have Gabriel Vilardi, a 22-year-old projected to play third-line center who scored 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in 54 games last season, and young defensemen Tobias Bjornfot, 20, and Mikey Anderson, 22.
Defenseman Olli Maatta and forward Andreas Athanasiou did not play at the Ducks because of injuries. Maatta could be available when the Kings host the Ducks on Saturday in their final preseason game.
