Allison Rests Injured Knee

After proceeding with nary a blip for 2 1/2 weeks, Jason Allison’s comeback from a painful knee injury hit a bump when the Kings’ top-line center sat out the team’s 5-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Monday night.

Allison tweaked his right knee late in the second period of the Kings’ 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday when he spun to avoid a defender and fell awkwardly, but he returned in the third period to assist on the Kings’ only goal.

Monday, however, with the Kings playing on consecutive nights for the third time since Allison’s return Dec. 5, his knee was too stiff to allow him to play.

The Kings have closely monitored Allison’s comeback. Originally expected to be out eight to 12 weeks after he was injured Oct. 29 in a knee-on-knee collision with Andy Sutton of the Atlanta Thrashers, Allison returned in five and was more productive than he had been before he was injured.

In nine games before he was sidelined, Allison had four goals and seven assists. In nine games since his return, he has one goal and 12 assists.

Still, he was injured only eight weeks ago, and doctors told him his knee probably wouldn’t be fully healed for three months and that he would experience setbacks that might force him to sit out from time to time.

“He’s going to have those moments,” Coach Andy Murray said. “He battles a lot of pain and gets back in there, but this one seemed to last a little longer.”

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Derek Armstrong was activated from injured reserve and returned to the lineup after sitting out six games because of a groin injury. Adam Deadmarsh was put on the injured list to open a roster spot for Armstrong.