Jack Campbell Undergoes Knee Surgery, Out 4-6 Weeks

If it’s not one thing, it’s another.

First there was Jonathan Quick’s injury as he recovers from surgery from a torn meniscus.

Jack Campbell stepped up admirably in Quick’s absence, having a bit of a break-through season of his own as he stepped into the starter’s role. While the Kings as a team are still struggling to come together, Campbell generally gave them every opportunity to win. Goaltending depth, for once, was not a concern for the Kings.

Well, crank the worry-meter up: Campbell is out for the next four to six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.

Yes, the same injury that’s sidelined Jonathan Quick.

The plural of "meniscus" is "menisci."

Used in a sentence: "The #LAKings now have two (2) goaltenders with torn menisci."

— Eric 💎 👑 (@hail_rover) November 12, 2018

Per the Kings, Campbell was injured during Saturday’s game against the Flames.

In Campbell’s absence, the Kings will turn to Peter Budaj, who did not put up good numbers behind an inexperienced Ontario Reign team (3 games played, 6.16 GAA, 0.825 Sv%). Budaj has played 30 minutes for the Kings in relief in Ottawa, making 10 saves on 11 shots.

Rookie goaltender Cal Petersen has also been called up. In 10 games with the Reign, Petersen is 2-3-3 with a 4.29 goals against average and a 0.881 save percentage. Petersen’s numbers aren’t necessarily indicative of his skill, however, and he’s been trending upwards lately as the Reign have settled into the season.

Last week, we took a look at the goaltending depth in the Kings’ system. Looks like that depth is getting challenged right about now.

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The Kings do have a back-to-back this weekend, playing in Chicago on Friday and in Nashville on Saturday. It’s possible Petersen gets into one of those games.

As of now, it doesn’t appear that the team has any plans to explore bringing in another goalie for the NHL level.

With Ontario down to one goalie — Charles Williams joined the team from the ECHL’s Manchester Monarchs — the organization may be looking to bring someone on a slightly-more-than-longer-term basis to Ontario. (Cole Kehler, the other goalie at the pro level under contract to the Kings, has only played in one game for the Monarchs and is also currently injured.)

Sounding like Campbell's surgery will be tomorrow. Hearing there's a chance a goalie is signed to a PTO (probably not an AHL contract) to join Ontario.

— Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) November 12, 2018

Best of luck to Campbell in his recovery and rehab.