Kings place forward Andy Andreoff on injured reserve with an upper-body injury

Left wing Andy Andreoff officially joined the list of the Kings’ battered and bruised Thursday. The Kings placed him on injured reserve because of an upper-body injury sustained during their loss Sunday to the Chicago Blackhawks. Left wing Marian Gaborik (broken right foot), defenseman Brayden McNabb (upper body) and goalies Jonathan Quick (groin) and Jeff Zatkoff (groin) were already on injured reserve.

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What we know so far about the 2016-17 Kings

Jake Muzzin, left, signed a five-season contract extension with the Kings that will keep him in uniform through the 2019-20 season. (Fil photo by Michael Owen Baker/Los Angeles Daily News)

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick is sidelined by a serious groin injury for up to three months, one big reason for concern to start the season. (File photo/Los Angeles Daily News)

No team in NHL history has won the Stanley Cup championship in October, but plenty have squandered a chance to play for it in June. The injury-depleted Kings completed the season’s first month with a lackluster 4-5-0 record and sat in sixth place in the seven-team Pacific Division.

Jonathan Quick, their standout goaltender, was placed on long-term injured reserve because of a serious groin injury suffered in a season-opening loss Oct. 12 to the San Jose Sharks. He’s not expected to play until January at the earliest, and was placed on the longer of the NHL’s two injured reserve lists.

Left wing Marian Gaborik (broken right foot), defenseman Brayden McNabb (right shoulder) and goalie Jeff Zatkoff are on the shorter IR list, eligible to return to the lineup after one week. Gaborik is out until Thanksgiving and it’s uncertain when McNabb and Zatkoff might play again.

Compounding matters, Kings left wing Andy Andreoff was forced from a 3-0 loss Sunday to the Chicago Blackhawks in the second period because of an unspecified upper-body injury. There was no immediate update on how long he might be sidelined.

It’s too soon to panic, but it’s not too soon to be concerned.

Here’s the link to the updated and edited story: http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20161031/injury-riddled-kings-start-troubling-but-its-early

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Kings goalie Jeff Zatkoff suffers groin injury during the team’s morning skate

The hits keep coming for the Kings. Left wing Marian Gaborik went down and out first, suffering a broken right foot last month while playing for Team Europe in the World Cup. Goalie Jonathan Quick went next, hurting his groin in a season-opening loss to the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 12.

Gaborik is expected to be out until Thanksgiving and Quick could be sidelined until January.

Goalie Jeff Zatkoff was the latest victim, suffering a groin  injury Saturday during the Kings’ morning skate. Zatkoff was termed questionable to play during the Kings’ game later in the evening against the undefeated Vancouver Canucks at Staples Center.

“He stopped a shot and his groin tightened up,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. “I’ve seen it in a game. I’ve never seen it in a practice.”

Sutter said the team would know more about Zatkoff’s condition later Saturday.

The pregame workout is usually a time to work up a sweat for 30 minutes or so and prepare for the contest to follow. Zatkoff moved awkwardly after blocking a shot and slumped to the ice, according to teammate Tom Gilbert.

Zatkoff needed assistance from teammates and a member of the athletic training staff in order to get off the ice and into the adjacent locker room at the Kings’ training facility in El Segundo. He was not available for immediate comment.

The Kings were expected to recall Jack Campbell from their American Hockey League team in Ontario to serve as Peter Budaj for Saturday’s game against the Canucks. Budaj made 17 saves in the Kings’ 4-3 OT victory Thursday over the Dallas Stars, ending a three-game skid to start the season.

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Kings place forward Marian Gaborik on injured reserve because of broken right foot

The Kings placed winger Marian Gaborik on injured reserve Thursday, retroactive to Sept. 25, because of a broken right foot he suffered during Team Europe’s semifinal victory over Sweden in the World Cup of Hockey in Toronto. Gaborik was injured when he was struck by a puck shot by teammate Mats Zuccarello in the second period. The Kings expect Gaborik to be sidelined for about two months.

“The toughest part of his injury, you know a lot of times those boot injuries you can start walking, but he can’t,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said of Gaborik. “It’s got to be non-weight bearing, just the way it’s broke, otherwise he’s going to move those bones around. So that’s the tough part. It’s frustrating for him, because he’s a guy who likes to work out and train. … He can’t do nothin’ yet.”

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LA Kings winger Tanner Pearson suspended four games for illegal check (with video)

The Kings won’t be at full strength when the regular season begins next Wednesday in San Jose. They learned Wednesday they’ll be without winger Tanner Pearson, who was suspended by the NHL for the rest of the exhibition season plus two regular-season games for an illegal check Sunday.

Pearson also was fined $15,555.56.

Here’s a link to the NHL’s video explanation: https://www.nhl.com/video/pearson-suspended-for-hit-to-head/t-277350912/c-45092103

The Kings also will be without injured winger Marian Gaborik, who suffered a broken right foot during the World Cup on Sept. 25 in Toronto that will sideline him for two months. Gaborik is scheduled to be re-examined by a team doctor the week of Oct. 16, according to coach Darryl Sutter.

Sutter hoped to determined who might best replace Gaborik during exhibition games in Las Vegas on Friday against the Dallas Stars and Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche. Now, Sutter has two vacancies to fill for the regular-season’s first two games.

Pearson was banned Wednesday for an illegal hit to the head of the Edmonton Oilers’ Brandon Davidson during the the Kings’ exhibition loss Sunday. Pearson was ejected from the game and now will serve the first suspension of his 146-game NHL career.

“I didn’t mean to have contact with the head, but that’s the way the game is now, and it’s one of those things that happened and it’s over with and now I’ve got to pay the consequences,” said Pearson, who is eligible to return to the lineup for an Oct. 18 game against the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul, Minn.

“I’m just going to deal with it.”

Pearson said he was trying to hit Davidson, an Oilers defenseman, in the shoulder on a play at center ice. Pearson drove his shoulder into Davidson’s head instead, injuring him and drawing a match penalty and a game misconduct at the 11-minute mark of the second period.

“I don’t want to do it again,” said Pearson, who was the Kings’ seventh-leading scorer last season with 36 points, including 15 goals, in 79 games. “I don’t like missing hockey games. It’s unfortunate what happened and I’ve got to sit out now.”

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Marian Gaborik is back with the Kings and other notes from Saturday’s practice

Notes from the Kings’ split-squad practice Saturday …

–Injured winger Marian Gaborik was back in El Segundo. He didn’t speak to reporters about the broken foot he suffered while playing with Team Europe in the World Cup of Hockey. He was wearing a protective walking-boot style cast on his right foot and needed the aid of crutches to get around the training facility.

–Jonathan Quick practiced with the B Group of players, but it remained to be determined when he would make his exhibition debut in goal, according to assistant coach David Payne. Quick could play in Sunday’s exhibition against the Ducks at Honda Center. Or it could come in exhibitions Friday or Saturday in Las Vegas.

–There’s no exact timetable for the return of Drew Dougty, Anze Kopitar and Jake Muzzin from the World Cup, Payne said. The three are due some rest and recovery time after Doughty and Muzzin’s Team Canada defeated Kopitar’s Team Europe in the two-game World Cup final. They mighty not play in any exhibitions.

–The Kings’ A Group, which includes Jeff Carter, will face the Edmonton Oilers in an exhibition Sunday in Vernon, British Columbia. Darryl Sutter will coach the team. The Kings’ B team faces the Ducks with Payne and Mike Stothers, coach of the Ontario Reign of the AHL, behind the bench at Honda Center.

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Kings winger Marian Gaborik injured while playing with Team Europe in World Cup

Kings winger Marian Gaborik suffered an unspecified lower-body injury while playing Sunday in the World Cup of Hockey in Toronto “that we’re still managing,” Team Europe coach Ralph Krueger told reporters Monday. Krueger couldn’t confirm a diagnosis or say when Gaborik would be fit to play again.

Team Europe advanced to the best-of-3 final against Canada with a 3-2 overtime victory in the semifinals Sunday over Sweden. Gaborik was injured blocking a shot during the second period but did continue to play in the third. He departed Monday’s practice on crutches, according to reports.

Krueger wouldn’t say whether Gaborik left with his leg in a cast.

Gaborik has two goals and a team-leading 13 shots on goal in four games while playing on a line for Europe with Kings teammate Anze Kopitar. He scored only 12 goals and 22 points in 54 games last season with the Kings, suffering from a lingering knee injury that forced him to the injured reserve list.

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Drew Doughty’s numbers take a beating in the L.A. Kings’ last two games

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty had a second consecutive rough game during Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. He took a key penalty in the third period that led to the go-ahead power-play goal for the Canucks’ Radim Vrbata. He also had a defensive rating of minus-3 in a team-leading 24:54. He also assisted on the Kings’ only goal, a power-play strike by Marian Gaborik in the second period.

Doughty also was a minus-2 in the Kings’ 3-2 overtime loss Wednesday to the Ducks, which was far from his best game of the season. He and Gaborik collided in a defensive breakdown that led to Ryan Kesler’s winning goal in OT. Doughty and Gaborik both went to cover defenseman Hampus Lindholm, leaving Kesler with plenty of open ice to set and fire a shot from low in the right faceoff circle past Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick.

Overall, Doughty’s plus-minus rating has dipped to plus-1.

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Trade deadline: What will the L.A. Kings do to improve their roster?

The NHL’s trade deadline is at noon Monday (Pacific time). Last year, Kings general manager Dean Lombardi pulled off a major move to get veteran winger Marian Gaborik from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Gaborik scored a team-leading 14 goals during the playoffs, helping to guide the Kings to their second Stanley Cup championship in three seasons. Can Lombardi swing another deal that will benefit the struggling club? There was a rumor early Monday that the Kings would attempt to deal suspended defenseman Slava Voynov, but that was shot down quickly.

Last week, Lombardi acquired puck-moving defenseman Andrej Sekera from the Carolina Hurricanes for a draft pick and a prospect, a move designed to fill a void created when Voynov was suspended indefinitely Oct. 20 by the NHL over a domestic violence charge at his Redondo Beach home. The addition of Sekera means the Kings are prepared to move on without Voynov.

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L.A. Kings give forward Jordan Nolan a three-season contract extension

Kings general manager Dean Lombardi continued to reward his players with contract extensions. Tuesday, he inked Jordan Nolan to a three-season deal with an AAV of $950,000. Nolan, a 25-year-old forward, has only 24 points in 170 career games in the NHL. He was a member of the Kings’ Stanley Cup championship teams in 2012 and ’14, however. Lombardi has been generous in giving extensions to his players, with Marian Gaborik receiving a new seven-year deal and Matt Greene getting a four-year contract during the last offseason.

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