The Los Angeles Kings will honor U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Cody Hightower as the Hero of the Game Tuesday evening as they play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Staples Center.
Hightower was awarded the Purple Heart after being injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2009.
Hightower is a recruiter stationed in Ventura after serving as an infantryman.
The game is also the fourth in the Kings’ five-game food drive, benefiting Friends & Helpers, which helps provide support and education for domestic abuse victims.
Suggested food items to donate include, but are not limited to, pasta, peanut butter and jelly, granola bars, soups, pancake mix, syrup, canned fruits and vegetables, rice and beans.
For each item donated, donors will receive a ticket for a raffle for a Kings player-signed puck and two tickets to the “Almost Acoustic Christmas” concerts at the Forum Dec. 8-9.
All items donated are delivered immediately following collection to the families served by Friends & Helpers.
Collection sites will be located at all major entrances starting two hours before the start of the game, concluding at the opening faceoff.
The drive will conclude at the Nov. 21 game against the Colorado Avalanche.