Injury news hits Kings hard; Matt Greene to miss extended time

NEW YORK — Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi sounded like a man slightly under siege.

He was calling from the airport in Toronto, having been there for league meetings with the other general managers and the Olympic advisory panel for Team USA. Reports about Kings’ injuries, old and new, kept coming his way.

“We’ve got a nice little gong show going right now,� Lombardi said.

Front and center was the uncertainty about franchise goalie Jonathan Quick, who was injured in Buffalo on Tuesday night. But the Kings took another hit to a heart-and-soul player, defenseman Matt Greene.

The Kings were preparing paperwork Wednesday to put Greene on long-term injured reserve, Lombardi said. That mechanism is designed for salary-cap relief and opens up a roster spot.

Left wing Kyle Clifford is also home, having suffered a head injury Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks, and was placed on injured reserve by the team, retroactive to Nov. 9.

Back surgery limited Greene to five regular-season games last season, and now he is dealing with an unrelated issue, an upper-body injury. Long-term IR can be triggered when a player is expected to miss at least 10 games and 24 days because of an injury.

“That’s where Solly earns his money,� Lombardi said of salary-cap guru Jeff Solomon, the team’s vice president of hockey operations and legal affairs. “There’s all these nuances in there to get a few roster spots, given that it looks like a lot of injuries look like they’re going to be fairly significant. “

The team will call up goalie Martin Jones and left wing Tanner Pearson from its American Hockey League affiliate in Manchester, N.H. They are to be on hand Thursday for the morning skate before the Kings face the New York Islanders.

Quick, who was injured late in overtime against the Sabres, is heading back to Los Angeles for evaluation, including an MRI examination. Lombardi was not sure if the injury was to Quick’s groin. Everything is speculation until the test results come back.

“Obviously, it didn’t look good,� Lombardi said. “The trainers told me walking out [last night], it was not good. They don’t know until they get in there and find out what it is, nobody knows.�

Forward Jeff Carter, who went on injured reserved two weeks ago, will see the doctors later this week for an update on his injured foot, Lombardi said. Carter suffered hairline fractures in his foot in the past and the injury resurfaced when he was hit in the same spot.

KINGS AT N.Y. ISLANDERS

When: 4 p.m. PST.

Where: Nassau Coliseum.

On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 1150.

Record vs. Islanders (2012-13): Did not play.

Etc.: The Kings could be seeing winger Thomas Vanek, the other half of this season’s biggest deal. He was traded to the Islanders from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Matt Moulson and two future draft choices, and has been out since suffering an upper-body injury Saturday.

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