The Los Angeles Kings continue to get tough news on the injury front.
Already without star goalie Jonathan Quick -- sent back to L.A. for examination on his injured groin/hamstring -- the club has placed defenseman Matt Greene on injured reserve.
Greene, 30, missed 43 of 48 games last year with a back injury not believed to be related to his current upper-body issue. The sturdy, stay-at-home blueliner rebounded to appear in 15 games to start this season -- averaging nearly 17 minutes while notching three points -- but hasn’t played since Nov. 2 and didn’t travel with the Kings for their current four-game Eastern road swing.
(Should be noted that, according to the LA Times, Kings GM Dean Lombardi was ‘preparing paperwork’ to put Green on long-term injured reserve, which would keep him out for 10 games and 24 days. No move to LTIR has been announced, though.)
In addition to Greene and Quick, the Kings are also dealing with injuries to Jeff Carter (lower body, on IR), Kyle Clifford (missed Tuesday’s game vs. Buffalo w/upper body) and Jarret Stoll (also missed Tuesday’s game vs. Buffalo w/upper body).
“We’ve got a nice little gong show going right now,” Lombardi said.
UPDATE: The Kings also put Clifford on IR.