Yachmenev Joins the Injured List

The injured reserve list grew longer Saturday with the addition of right wing Vitali Yachmenev. And no, it had nothing to do with the hit from behind by New York Islander right wing Ziggy Palffy early in the third period Friday night.

Yachmenev, the Kings’ third-leading scorer last season, suffered a sprained left shoulder when he was hit in the last 30 seconds while killing a penalty. He is week-to-week, meaning Yachmenev would miss the upcoming three-game trip to Montreal, Philadelphia and Washington.

Already, two of Dimitri Khristich’s linemates are injured--Yachmenev and Vladimir Tsyplakov--and the season is one game old.

“We’ll probably have to pull straws to see who play with Dima,” Coach Larry Robinson joked. “Nobody will want to play with him.”