The Los Angeles Kings placed struggling left wing Dustin Penner on injured reserve Sunday. Penner suffered a hand injury when he was struck by a puck in a 3-2 loss Thursday night against visiting Vancouver.
Penner, the fourth-highest paid forward on the team at $4.25 million this season, has no goals and two assists in 14 games this season. Acquired in a trade deadline deal last February with the Edmonton Oilers, he has not scored a goal in his last 27 regular season games with Kings and has no multipoint games since joining the club.
The former 30-goal scorer, who won a Stanley Cup title as a rookie with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, also missed the first two games of this season with a groin injury and left another game early with a knee bruise.
Brad Richardson filled his spot on the second line Saturday night in a 5-2 victory against the visiting Minnesota Wild.
With Penner on IR, the Kings recalled Andrei Loktionov from the AHL on Monday morning. Loktionov, 21, has not played for the Kings this season. In 17 games with the Manchester Monarchs, he had three goals and a team-high 11 assists.
In 20 career NHL games, all with the Kings, he has produced four goals and three assists. He's set to make his first appearance Wednesday night when the Kings host the Ducks at Staples Center.
Dan Arritt covers the Kings for ESPNLosAngeles.com.