'Yotes Notes: Kempe Hoping to Play vs. Younger Brother for First Time

LOS ANGELES --Mario Kempe is expected to be in the lineup for the Coyotes on Tuesday night vs. the Kings. If Los Angeles forward Adrian Kempe, Mario's younger brother, is able to return to action from an injury, it will be a special night for the Kempe family.

The siblings never have competed against each other in a regular-season NHL game. It almost happened last November when the Kings visited Gila River Arena, but Mario was scratched after they skated warm-ups on the same ice. This time around, Mario appears to be a lock to get into the game. At Monday's practice he skated as left wing on the third line in Michael Grabner's spot; Grabner is out indefinitely because of an eye injury.
"We're really close to each other and we talk every day, so it's going to be a fun moment, for sure," said Mario, who is 30, eight years older than Adrian.
The big question is whether Adrian Kempe will play on Tuesday. He missed Sunday's game because of an upper-body injury but practiced Monday. Mario is confident his kid brother won't miss this chance to make family history. Sure, they've played against each other in an NHL preseason game, but this would be much different.
Mario said his mother, who lives in Stockholm, Sweden, but has been visiting him in Arizona for a week, made the nearly 400-mile drive to Los Angeles on Monday morning so she could watch her sons play against each other on NHL ice for the first time. She also attended last November's game in Glendale but left a little disappointed when only Adrian played.

Kempe has played 22 games for the Coyotes over the past two seasons, including four this season. He has yet to notch a point in 2018-19, but he's leading the team in recalls from the American Hockey League. After starting the season in the NHL, he's been back and forth between the NHL and AHL clubs three times.
"I can't complain about that," Kempe said with a smile. "I know the situation here. I'm on a two-way contract so anything can happen. You just have to go through it and be ready when an opportunity comes. I feel like I'm ready. It's good."
He added: "I'm really excited, but it's tough to get into the lineup because somebody else got hurt. 'Grabs' is a really important player for our team and we're going to miss him. For me, I'm just going to go out, work hard, play the way I can and prove that I can play in this league."
• Adin Hill credited teammates for helping him win the NHL's Second Star of the Week award, which was announced Monday morning. Hill stopped 59 of 60 shots over three games against Minnesota, Nashville and St. Louis. Arizona won all three games.
"It's exciting," Hill said. "But being a Star of the Week, especially as a goalie, it reflects on the team's performance. The team's been playing a very fast game plan, the way we want to, and guys have done a great job in the defensive zone helping me out."
Head Coach Rick Tocchet said the League made a good choice.
"I thought he went in and guys locked down in front of him," Tocchet said. "When there was a breakdown, he was there. He doesn't seem too nervous to me. He's doing a nice job for us and it's a good story right now."

• Antti Raanta tended a net for Arizona's practice on Monday. He's missed the past two games because of a lower-body injury. After practice he accompanied the team to Los Angeles for Tuesday's game. Tocchet did not name a starter, but Hill is expected to play again. Calvin Pickard also few to Los Angeles with the team.

Meanwhile, Tocchet said Darcy Kuemper should be a full participant at practice on Wednesday. Kuemper has missed the past four games because of a lower-body injury.
• The Coyotes recalled forward Conor Garland from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL on Monday.
Garland is Tucson's leading scorer with 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists). He's already matched his pro career-high for goals scored (eight) in a season, which he set in 55 games last season. In late October, the AHL named the third-year pro its Player of the Week.
Observers in Tucson say Garland is stronger on the puck than in past seasons, and that he's playing a more mature game this season.

Arizona drafted Garland 123rd overall in 2015. He has yet to play in a regular-season NHL game.
"To be honest with you, I thought he had a great (training ) camp," Tocchet said. "I'm not going to say he wasn't on the radar, but he surprised me. I thought he was really good in those exhibition games … He's done a nice job down there. He's scoring goals and playing hard, so he deserves a chance to come up."

• Prospects Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Barrett Hayton and Cameron Crotty all have been invited to Hockey Canada's Selection Camp ahead of the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship.