More Damage to Straka’s Knees

Martin Straka’s knee troubles doubled Tuesday, with the Kings announcing that he had torn meniscuses in both knees in addition to the torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee that he suffered Jan. 10 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Straka is scheduled to undergo surgery Thursday to remove the torn cartilage from each knee. The MCL injury is expected to heal on its own while Straka recovers from the knee surgeries.

The Kings believe Straka will play again before the regular season ends April 4, team spokesman Mike Altieri said before the Kings faced the Calgary Flames at Staples Center.

As it turned out, the damage to Straka’s left knee happened when he suffered the torn MCL against the Blue Jackets.

Injuries have sidelined many of the Kings’ top players for extended periods this season. In addition to Straka, they also were without leading scorer Ziggy Palffy (dislocated right shoulder), plus Jason Allison (whiplash), Adam Deadmarsh (post-concussion symptoms) and Aaron Miller (cervical strain) for Tuesday’s game.