Add Laperriere To Injured List
(from the Daily News)
By Matt McHale
Staff Writer
November 29, 2003 - EL SEGUNDO - In the wake of Thursday's painful 6-4 loss in Phoenix, the Kings discovered Friday that winger Ian Laperriere has a concussion and placed him on injured reserve.
Laperriere, 29, is expected to miss at least a week after undergoing a battery of tests with Kings doctors. He originally was injured Nov. 19 against Nashville but played three more games. He became ill during the club's Thursday-morning practice and did not play against the Coyotes.
"I thought I could get through it," Laperriere said. "But now I think this is going to take a little time."
Laperriere marks the sixth Kings forward to be placed on injured reserve this season. The others: Jason Allison, Adam Deadmarsh, Ziggy Palffy, Jozef Stumpel and Derek Armstrong.
Center Eric Belanger is playing with 12 stitches in his mouth after taking a high stick last Tuesday from New Jersey's Scott Niedermayer that loosened four teeth.
"This is a stretch we're just going to have to live with," Belanger said. "We have no choice."
In addition to Laperriere, rookie Esa Pirnes will not play this afternoon against the Chicago Blackhawks because of a cervical strain. Pirnes played 11 minutes Thursday and still is looking for his first NHL goal.
The absence of so many forwards forced the Kings to send down promising rookie defenseman Tim Gleason and recall John Tripp and Jerred Smithson from minor-league Manchester (N.H.). Gleason, 21, is the only defenseman who could be sent down without having to clear waivers.
"The move isn't about Tim," Kings coach Andy Murray said. "We think he has played really well. If you had talked about Tim Gleason being on this team last summer, he wouldn't have been. But he has come a long way. This move is about our need for forwards."
Tripp, 26, played well early in training camp but opened the season at Manchester. At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, he has drawn comparisons to Philadelphia power forward John LeClair. Tripp has seven goals in 20 games at Manchester. Last season, he played nine games with the New York Rangers and had a goal and two assists.
"We'll see if he is a John LeClair in the American Hockey League or if he can bring his game to the next level," Murray said. "He will be in the lineup against the Blackhawks."
Smithson, 24, also played 20 games this year for the Monarchs and has two goals and six points. Last season, he appeared in 22 games for the Kings and recorded two assists.