Several players have gone down with injuries over the last little while without much detail attached. At practice on Thursday, the Los Angeles Kings provided some answers regarding the health and status of goaltender Darcy Kuemper and other key players.
The Los Angeles Kings have been without a number of key players as of late due to injuries. Center Anze Kopitar and left winger Trevor Moore have been out of the lineup for some time, and are both on the team's injured reserve list.
Additionally, starting goaltender Darcy Kuemper went down with an injury against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Anton Forsberg went in to finish the game and ended up with the win.
On Thursday, the Kings had practice and cleared up some of the questions regarding the health and status of these crucial players.
Kuemper, who left Tuesday's game after playing 19:21 of ice time, seems to be fine. Rangers center Jonny Brodzinski made contact with Kuemper as he flew by the crease on a rush chance.
It was reported that a nerve in his neck was pinched in the collision, and his "arm went dead." However, he was a full participant at Thursday's practice, and it appears he will be good to go.
That is great news for the Kings to have their starting netminder, but also for Team Canada's Olympic team, as he is set to join his national squad in Milan later in February.
Darcy Kuemper (Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images)Speaking of Team Canada, defenseman Drew Doughty attended practice after missing Los Angeles' clash with New York. There wasn't much concern with the veteran bllueliner as he was absent on Tuesday with an illness.
Moore, who has yet to feature for the Kings since the new year, did some individual work at practice on Thursday. The 30-year-old last played on Dec. 29 and has been sidelined since with an upper-body injury.
Reports say Moore will travel with the team on their upcoming six-game road trip. He's been on injured reserve since Jan. 8.
As for the Kings' captain, Kopitar hasn't played since Jan. 5 against the Minnesota Wild. He left that contest after playing less than five minutes and did not return.
At the time, he was listed "day-to-day," but has missed two weeks and eight outings in the meantime. He did not practise on Thursday, but will also travel with the team, like Moore, on the roadtrip.
That trip begins on Saturday against the St. Louis Blues, and swings into the Eastern Conference until their final game of the stretch on Feb. 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.