from Rich Hammond of the Kings Blog at the OC Register,

Marian Gaborik is expected to miss tonight’s game, and perhaps a couple more, with a lower-body muscle injury. If that’s the case, the Kings are one more injury away from a serious roster pinch.

The Kings started the season last week with a 23-man roster, one that nearly took them to the NHL’s salary-cap ceiling of $69 million.

Since then, the Kings have had three players -- Gaborik, forward Trevor Lewis and defenseman Jake Muzzin -- sidelined with injuries. They now have 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies, and zero healthy ''spare'' players. What happens if another player gets hurt before one of the three injured guys returns?

In that case, the Kings will have a tough decision to make.

The salary cap is rigid for the first 33 days of the season, meaning teams have to stay under it no matter what. The only exception is for players on long-term injured reserve, whose salaries do not count under the cap.

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