Painful Charley Horse Didn’t Faze Allison

Jason Allison played in the Kings’ 4-0 Game 7 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night at Denver despite a charley horse that swelled the circumference of his right thigh by about 21/2 inches, Coach Andy Murray said Tuesday.

“He’s very rugged,” Murray said of his top-line center, injured Saturday when crunched into the boards by Avalanche defenseman Rob Blake in Game 6. “Most players wouldn’t have played [Monday]. Not because they wouldn’t have wanted to ... but they probably wouldn’t have been able to stand the pain.”

Murray said Allison tried on four pairs of pants as aides tried to find equipment that would protect him.

“We’d had witch doctors in there working on him, trying to get him ready,” the coach said. “I went up to him before the warmup and I said, ‘Jason, your health is the most important thing to me here. This hockey game will pass. We don’t want to do anything that jeopardizes your health and if you don’t feel comfortable doing this, then make the right decision here ... because I know how tough you are.’

“And he kept saying, ‘I’m going to play.’ That’s all he said.”