Kings goaltender Copley (knee) to miss rest of season

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Goaltender Pheonix Copley will miss the rest of the season for the Los Angeles Kings after he underwent knee surgery earlier this week. The Kings made the announcement on Saturday.

The ACL reconstruction procedure was performed by Dr. Frank Petrigliano at Keck Hospital of USC.

Copley suffered the knee injury during practice on Dec. 15 and was immediately placed on long-term injured reserve.

The Kings are third in the Pacific Division with 46 points, but have gone winless in their last four games, including a pair of losses in shootouts.

Copley is 4-1-2 with a 3.16 goals-against average in eight starts. Cam Talbot, who was selected to the All-Star Game earlier this week, has a 14-8-3 mark. Among goaltenders with at least 20 games played, he leads the league with a 2.10 goals against average and 92.5% save percentage.

David Rittich will be the primary backup for the rest of the season. He is 2-0-1 in three starts since Copley's injury with a 1.62 GAA and 92.6% save rate.

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