Golden Knights’ Cody Eakin shakes off rust after lengthy layoff

Cody Eakin had one full-contact practice before jumping back into the fray Tuesday against Pittsburgh.

Naturally, the Golden Knights center felt there was room for improvement after his first game since Nov. 29.

“I think the biggest thing is just the timing to get back, being able to jump up in that play and anticipate things. That might take a few extra shifts,” Eakin said Wednesday. “Just the timing, just going into your edge work, how fast the plays are coming. Being outlets for the (defensemen) and your wingers. It just takes a little bit, I guess.”

Eakin, who missed 17 games with an upper-body injury, finished with one shot attempt, one hit and one giveaway in 13:31 of ice time centering the third line in a 4-3 loss to the Penguins.

That line was on the ice when Brandon Tanev notched Pittsburgh’s fourth goal after a long stretch pass up the wall by defenseman Kris Letang.

Of Eakin, coach Gerard Gallant said, “He was up and down (the ice). He worked hard. It’s going to take him a little bit, but overall in the game he was fine. He’ll get better as the games go on and as time comes.”

Eakin has played center the majority of his career. But the pending unrestricted free agent isn’t opposed to playing wing if called upon when Jonathan Marchessault returns from injury.

“I’m happy to play with anyone in any role, as long as I can feel I’m helping out,” Eakin said. “The anticipation and the timing is a little bit different (at wing), but hopefully it wouldn’t take too long. I’ve done that once or twice over my career.”

Marchessault update

The Knights held an optional practice at City National Arena, and Marchessault was not among the participants.

The left wing has missed the past three games with a lower-body injury. He is expected to be a game-time decision for Thursday’s matchup against Los Angeles.

“I thought he’d be playing by now, but obviously day to day and we’ll see how he gets (Thursday),” Gallant said.

Gallant gave Chandler Stephenson a look on the line with center William Karlsson and right wing Reilly Smith against Pittsburgh, which was a bit of a catch-22 for Gallant.

“You like to leave your lines alone as much as possible because he was playing great hockey with (Mark) Stone and (Max) Pacioretty. That’s the tough part about that,” Gallant said. “But when Marchy goes down, you try to put another guy there. That’s the fit you try and make.”

Kings scouting report

Los Angeles will be playing the second game of a back-to-back after hosting Dallas on Wednesday.

The Kings entered with 38 points, last in the Western Conference, and are led by all-star Anze Kopitar (15 goals, 23 assists).

“If we can come out and have a good start, get our crowd into it early and play our game, we’ll be OK,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.