There were many reasons to be skeptical when the Kings acquired 35-year-old center Vinny Lecavalier from the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 6, along with defenseman Luke Schenn.
Lecavalier hadn't played much for Philadelphia and hadn't played at all since Nov. 12. How much could he help a team that wanted to rebuild its strength up the middle after losing veteran centers Mike Richards and Jarret Stoll?
Quite a bit, as it turns out. Lecavalier's tying goal Sunday in the Kings' 3-2 overtime victory at San Jose was his fourth goal and fifth point in nine games, and he has been effective while averaging 12 minutes 57 seconds' ice time per game.