The negative fallout continues from the hit Kings forward Mike Richards took last night against Florida. Shortly after learning Panthers winger Sean Bergenheim wouldn’t receive supplemental discipline, the Kings announced Richards will be going on injured reserve.
Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider notes that Richards will be placed on IR tomorrow, meaning he’ll be out at least seven days. He’ll miss Saturday’s game against Montreal, Tuesday’s Freeway Face-Off against Anaheim and Thursday’s home date versus Minnesota.
There’s still no specific word on the injury Richards suffered. “The Kings are not using with word ‘concussion’ in discussing Richards,” Helene Elliott of the LA Times tweeted. "[That] leads to question of whether concussions that aren’t officially announced as concussions are included in the league’s concussion stats.”
With that said, let it be known Richard’s injury is being classified as upper-body (for now), with this replay suggesting it could be a head injury:
In related news:
-- Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell won’t be going on IR, but head coach Terry Murray “fears” he’ll miss a few games with a lower-body injury. Mitchell left the Florida game early in the first period.
-- It’s expected that Dustin Penner will come off IR to replace Richards. Look for him to skate on a second line with Jarret Stoll and Justin Williams.