Last year, Kings forward Adrian Kempe played against older brother Mario of the Arizona Coyotes in a preseason game, and the two smiled as they skated by each other in pregame warmups.
It is the header photo on Adrian’s Twitter page, which speaks to the rarity of the moment. Adrian, 22, is eight years younger than Mario, and they never played against each other growing up in Sweden, let alone in a game that counts in the NHL standings. But that could change Tuesday.
Adrian is hopeful to return from an upper-body injury, and Mario is back up with the Coyotes after teammate Michael Grabner suffered an eye injury.