There were some important updates to injury statuses for head coach Jim Hiller and the Los Angeles Kings at team practice on Thursday morning (Jan. 22) late this week. In this past couple of weeks, Hiller and the Kings have been missing multiple key veteran players defensively in goal and on the active forward lines core group in the West.
Los Angeles Kings reportedly expected to get Darcy Kuemper and Drew Doughty back from injuries this weekend vs. St. Louis on the road
Key veteran players on the active forward lines and on the blue line on defense, like defenseman Drew Doughty and center captain Anze Kopitar, have missed at least one game in the past couple of weeks in the West for the Kings this regular season. The Kings also missed starting goalie Darcy Kuemper for most of the last game vs. the New York Rangers on home ice this past Tuesday night, and winger Trevor Moore due to various injuries for the team.
The injury status updates for Hiller and the Kings on Thursday morning were very encouraging for the team before hitting the road in the West for a road trip this upcoming week this month in late January and early February next month. Injury updates this morning on Thursday cleared up the statuses due to injuries for multiple key Kings players, including Kuemper in net for the team.
Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider reported on Jan. 22 that Kuemper practiced for the Kings and Hiller on Thursday morning with the team in drills today. The upper-body injury Kuemper suffered in net for the Kings this past Tuesday night vs. the Rangers on home ice was pretty scary at first in the opening frame.
"When Kuemper experienced that collision in front of the net, he said that it pinched a nerve in his neck, resulting in a “dead arm” situation. He took a few circles around, which we saw, in hopes that it the feeling would just come back. When it didn’t, Kuemper met with Head Athletic Trainer Chris Kingsley and immediately left the game."Zach Dooley-LA Kings Insider
Kuemper reportedly was much healthier in practice yesterday and today, and he was feeling more back to normal for the Kings late this week after suffering the upper-body injury this past Tuesday.
"It was just weird, I was just kind of waiting for it to come back, that’s why I was trying to buy some time and then in the intermission, same thing, but with neck stuff, they want to be precautionary. The next morning, it was feeling better."Darcy Kuemper
Another key injury update for the Kings on Thursday morning today concerned the veteran defenseman and assistant captain Doughty. In this past Tuesday night's game on home ice vs. the Rangers for the Kings, Doughty was out due to a reported illness on the blue line on defense.
Doughty is reportedly expected to be back in the active roster lineup on the blue line on defense for the Kings in the next game this upcoming week on Saturday vs. the St. Louis Blues.
It's also noteworthy that Moore and Kopitar both joined the Kings in various ways for the practice on Thursday morning late this week. Moore participated in team drills for the Kings today, and Kopitar participated in an individual skate this morning in practice.