Kings: Jack Johnson’s out, Alec Martinez is back up and juniors rule
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Defenseman Jack Johnson, who took a nasty slap shot on the foot during the Kings’ 3-2 victory at Edmonton Tuesday and missed the third period, won’t play Thursday at Calgary as the Kings finish their three-game Canadian trip and play their finale before an extended Christmas break.
Coach Terry Murray said Wednesday that Johnson has a lower body injury and that the upcoming respite should give him a chance to heal. After Thursday’s game the Kings don’t play again until Dec. 26 at Phoenix.
‘Everything should be in pretty good shape by that time,’ Murray said after the Kings had a team meeting at the Saddledome.
With Johnson unavailable, defenseman Alec Martinez was recalled from Manchester of the American Hockey League. Martinez, who made the roster out of training camp but played only one game before suffering an ankle injury, is expected to play Wednesday.
It’s unclear whether center Jarret Stoll, who missed Tuesday’s game because of a groin pull, will play Thursday. Murray said he hoped Stoll would be able to participate in the game-day skate. ‘Then it will probably be one of those game-day decisions as we get closer to the start off the game,’ Murray said.
The Kings have lost 79 man-games to injuries this season. Since it’s not an official statistic kept by the league according to specified guidelines, it’s difficult to compare that number to other teams’ tallies.
On another note, the Kings’ recent success has extended to their prospects:
Four Kings draft picks were chosen to play for Team Canada in the upcoming world junior championships, to be played Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Regina and Saskatoon, Canada. Four is the largest delegation of players whose rights belong to one NHL team.
Forwards Brayden Schenn and Brandon Kozun, defenseman Colten Teubert and goaltender Martin Jones will wear the maple leaf in the tournament.
Schenn, who made his Kings debut Nov. 26 on a one-day regular-season amateur tryout agreement, was chosen fifth in the 2009 draft. He has 14 goals and 49 points this season for Brandon of the Western Hockey League. Kozun, who was born in Los Angeles but moved to Canada at age 10 and chose to play for Canada, was a sixth-round pick by the Kings in June. He plays for the Calgary Hitmen and leads the WHL with 44 assists and 63 points.
Teubert was chosen 13th by the Kings in the 2008 draft. In 31 games with the Regina Pats of the WHL this season, he has 24 points and 55 penalty minutes. Jones was signed by the Kings as an unrestricted free agent on Oct. 2, 2008, and is a teammate of Kozun’s in Calgary, In 20 games Jones has a 15-5-0 record with a 2.83 goals-against average, .897 save percentage and one shutout.
More later at www.latimes.com/sports
Helene Elliott from Calgary, Canada