Tests Reveal Vopat Has Herniated Disk

The news got worse for rookie King defenseman Jan Vopat when tests revealed that he has a herniated disk in his back. Vopat had been troubled by a lower back strain during training camp but tried to continue to play in discomfort.

He appeared in Friday’s season opener, then was scratched for Sunday’s game against San Jose. Initially, team doctors will try to treat the injury with a series of anti-inflammatory injections and evaluate his progress in a week. Vopat is considered week-to-week, according to the Kings.

Last season, Vopat appeared in 11 games with the Kings, scoring once and getting four assists. He spent most of the season with the Phoenix Roadrunners of the International Hockey League, appearing in 47 games.

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It is the first trip of the season for the Kings, who clearly struggled away from the Forum in 1995-96 with a winning percentage of .305. The only team with a worse road record in the Western Conference was San Jose (.244). The Kings started with a tie and consecutive victories on the road, but later lost all five games on an Eastern swing in November before things got worse with one eight-game losing streak, starting in November and ending in December.