Kings goalie Jeff Zatkoff says he’s unsure how long he’ll be sidelined by groin injury suffered in practice

Kings goaltender Jeff Zatkoff walked with a noticeable limp as he exited the dressing room after a 4-3 shootout victory Saturday night over the Vancouver Canucks at Staples Center. He couldn’t say how long he would be sidelined by a groin injury suffered at the team’s morning skate in El Segundo earlier in the day. When asked if he would be OK, Zatkoff said he didn’t know.

“We’ll see,” he said.

The Kings placed him on injured reserve with what they called a lower-body injury. Kings coach Darryl Sutter said Zatkoff’s groin tightened up on him after making a save about midway through the 30-minute workout. Peter Budaj started in goal against the Canucks and Jack Campbell was summoned from Ontario of the AHL.

Jonathan Quick, the Kings’ No. 1 goalie, hurt his groin in the season-opening loss to the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 12 and is expected to be out for about three months.

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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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(Video) Kings reactions to their loss to the Flyers in their home-opening game

Reactions to the Kings’ 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in their home-opening game Friday at Staples Center didn’t vary much. The consensus was the King must play better if they hope to win. Glaring errors cost them during the pivotal second period, according to Kings captain Anze Kopitar.

“We didn’t play the way we’re supposed to play,” Kopitar said. “A couple of bad line changes, a couple of missed coverages and they cashed in on it. We just can’t let that happen. You can’t expect to win when you let in four goals in one period. That second period was not good.”

Of playing for what could be an extended period without Quick, Kopitar added, “Yeah, he’s a big part of this team, and arguably the best goalie in the NHL, but we can’t do anything about it. A magic spell won’t bring him back. We’ve got to play with what we’ve got. We’ve got to play hard and, obviously, a lot better than we did tonight.”

(Thanks to Abbey Mastracco for the video)

 

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Kings recall goalie Peter Budaj from Ontario of the AHL

The Kings on Thursday recalled goaltender Peter Budaj from their American Hockey League team in Ontario to serve as Jeff Zatkoff’s backup, and perhaps to start a game or two, too, while Jonathan Quick is sidelined by an unspecified lower-body injury. Budaj led the AHL last season with 42 victories and nine shutouts.

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Jonathan Quick placed on injured reserve as Kings turn goalie duties over to Jeff Zatkoff on week-to-week basis

 

Goalie Jonathan Quick has started 12 consecutive games for the Kings. (Photo by John McCoy Daily News)

The Kings placed goaltender Jonathan Quick on injured reserve Thursday afternoon, one day after he was forced from their season-opening loss to the San Jose Sharks because of a lower-body injury. Quick’s status was described as week to week by a team spokesman.

Jeff Zatkoff will replace Quick in the Kings’ lineup for Friday’s home-opening game against the Philadelphia Flyers at Staples Center. Zatkoff took over for Quick to start the second period of the Kings’ 2-1 loss Wednesday to the Sharks in San Jose.

Quick stopped 14 of 15 shots.

Zatkoff stopped 15 of 16.

The Kings are expected to recall Peter Budaj from their AHL team in Ontario to serve as Zatkoff’s backup, and perhaps start, too, while Quick is sidelined.

“Jonathan is obviously a special player,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter. “You just don’t replace that. It’s not different than any other star player. You just don’t replace or expect somebody to play the same way and do the same things. We also know we’re quite capable at that position.”

Quick was the NHL’s most durable goalie last season, leading the league with 4,034 minutes played over 68 games. He won 40 games, had a 2.22 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage with five shutouts and was a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2015-16.

In addition, the 30-year-old Quick won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the 2012 playoffs, leading the Kings to the first of their two Stanley Cup championships in a three-season span. He had a 16-4 record, a 1.41 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage in the ’12 playoffs.

Zatkoff will assume the starter’s duties one game into his second stint with the Kings. He rejoined the team that selected him in the third round of the 2006 draft (74th overall), signing a two-year, $1.8-million free-agent contract last July 1.

“Don’t change anything,” Zatkoff said. “The message is the same. We want to win games and we want to play a certain way, and nothing changes. … My job is to come in and the team doesn’t miss a beat. … I’ve had situations to prepare me for this. It’s definitely a good opportunity.”

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Kings announce fill-in announcers when Bob Miller isn’t traveling this season

The Kings announced their list of replacement announcers when Hall of Fame play-by-play man Bob Miller isn’t working this season. Gary Thorne will work eight games, Chris Cuthbert and Ralph Strangis will work four apiece and Jiggs McDonald will work one game alongside analyst Jim Fox. McDonald was the Kings’ first broadcaster, starting in their inaugural 1967-68 season. Miller earlier announced plans to work a limited schedule after undergoing heart surgery last season.

Thorne will work games Nov. 8 at Toronto; Nov. 10 at Montreal; Nov. 11 at Ottawa, Nov. 13 at Winnipeg; Nov. 15 at Colorado; Dec. 13 at Buffalo, Dec. 15 at Detroit and Dec. 18 at Boston.

Strangis will work games Dec. 20 at Columbus; Dec. 22 at Nashville; Dec. 23 at Dallas and Dec. 26 at Carolina.

Cuthbert will work games Jan. 21 at the New York Islanders, Jan. 23 at the New York Rangers; Jan. 24 at New Jersey and Feb. 4 at Philadelphia.

McDonald will work the Feb. 9 game at Florida.

 

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LA Kings transactions (part 3)

In case you missed it, the Kings on Sunday assigned Peter Budaj to Ontario of the American Hockey League, ending a training camp battle with Jeff Zatkoff for backup goaltending duties. Zatkoff signed a two-year, $1.8-million free-agent contract last summer to be Jonathan Quick’s fill-in this season.

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LA Kings transactions (part 2)

There was no formal announcement of their assignment to Ontario of the AHL on Monday, but forwards Adrian Kempe and Michael Mersch and defensemen Paul LaDue and Kurtis MacDermid didn’t join the Kings for their practice and there were no longer locker stalls with their names on them in the dressing room.

So …

NHL opening-night rosters must be set by 2 p.m. Tuesday.

 

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LA Kings transactions (part 1)

The Kings placed forward Michael Latta and defenseman Rob Scuderi on waivers Monday. The other 29 teams in the NHL have until 9 a.m. on Tuesday, to claim them. If no one does, then the Kings will retain their rights and could assign them to Ontario of the American Hockey League, a likely scenario for both.

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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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