Armstrong’s Finger Injury More Serious Than Thought

Six to eight weeks.

That was the latest word after King practice Tuesday. The injury suffered by center Derek Armstrong -- a broken finger on his left hand -- at the end of Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Blues was worse than previously thought, and he could be out as long as eight weeks.

On Monday, Armstrong visited a hand specialist, who told him the break is in the joint of his ring finger. And, as Coach Andy Murray demonstrated, it makes it terribly difficult to grip a stick, so Armstrong was put on the injured-reserve list by the team.

Center Jozef Stumpel remains sidelined because of a bruised chest. “His body is not cooperating as quickly as some other people’s bodies cooperate at times,” Murray said.

But not all the news was bleak. Though Adam Deadmarsh again did not skate, center Jason Allison did, and said the medication he has been taking for post-traumatic migraine symptoms has made “a big difference.”

“I’m thankful we narrowed it down,” he said. “I swear to God, I must have had 30, 40 different doctors’ tests.”

He is cautiously optimistic, saying: “A little bit. But at the same time, I’ve got to look at it realistically, it’s not gone. Not yet, anyway. We’re hoping it gets better continuously.... Why I’m most optimistic is I felt like myself the last week or so, the first time in eight, nine months.”

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Defenseman Maxim Kuznetsov has been taken off the team’s suspended list and sent to the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Manchester, N.H., for a conditioning assignment.

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TONIGHT

vs. Nashville, 7:30, Fox Sports Net

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- KSPN (710).

Records -- Kings 8-6-1-1, Predators 7-8-1-0.

Record vs. Predators (2002-03) -- 3-1.

Update -- Nashville has recorded one road win in five games, and defenseman Marek Zidlicky is the leading scorer, with five goals and 14 points. King rookie defenseman Joe Corvo is expected to play his first game since serving a three-game suspension imposed by the organization after he pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman in a Boston bar last year.