Injured Straka Is Likely to Miss ‘Significant Time’

The state of the Kings these days: Their injured players are large enough in number that they now give each other rides home from the hospital.

Martin Straka, at the doctor’s office Monday to have his right knee examined, stuck around to give Ziggy Palffy a lift after Palffy’s season-ending surgery on his dislocated shoulder, a carpool that contained more than $10 million in injured King assets.

As the rest of the Kings boarded their charter jet for a four-game trip, Straka stayed behind, the latest King on the injured reserve list after being diagnosed with a severe sprain stemming from a knee-to-knee collision Saturday with Columbus defenseman Anders Eriksson.

Straka will undergo further testing next week after the swelling subsides. “He’s out indefinitely and likely will miss some significant time,” team spokesman Mike Altieri said.

The absence of Straka, who has 11 points in 19 games since being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins, will add to the Kings’ scoring woes at forward.

“Our approach has got to be that we’ve got to tighten defensively and be in low-scoring games,” captain Mattias Norstrom said.

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Palffy’s surgery, performed by team doctor Ronald Kvitne, went without a hitch. His recovery is expected to take six months.... The Kings recalled forwards Scott Barney and Esa Pirnes from Manchester (N.H.). Barney had 19 goals in 39 games for the Monarchs; Pirnes had been sent down briefly for conditioning after recovering from a concussion.... Forward Michael Cammalleri has struggled since being sent down to Manchester..