Los Angeles Kings forward Andrei Kuzmenko has undergoing successful surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee the team announced Saturday.
Kuzmenko is considered week-to-week and has been placed on injured reserve as a result of the procedure. In a corresponding move, the team has recalled defenceman Angus Booth from their AHL affiliate.
In his team’s first game back from the Olympic break, the 30 year old dished out two assists against the Vegas Golden Knights. It’s unclear exactly when the injury occurred, but he ended up sitting out the team’s next contest vs. the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
With 13 goals and 25 points through 52 contests, Kuzmenko figured to see an uptick in minutes following the devastating injury to teammate Kevin Fiala at the Olympics. With the veteran winger now also sidelined indefinitely, Los Angeles’ depth along the wings will be tested even further.
Making matters worse, veterans Joel Armia and Drew Doughty have also been dinged up since the Olympic break passed and are both considered day-to-day as well.
27 year old forward Taylor Ward has drawn into the lineup in Kuzmenko’s absence, with his roster spot allowing the team to bring up Booth.
Losers of their last 5 contests, LA has now fallen out of the playoff picture in the tightly packed Western Conference. However, as any Kings fan will remind you, all the team needs to do is qualify for the postseason, and then it’s anyone’s game. A fact made evident back in 2012 when the 8th seeded Kings claimed Lord Stanley’s mug to earn the franchise’s first championship.
Up next for the Kings is a 7pm ET contest against the Calgary Flames.
Photo: Ryan Tanner. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.