Update: Kings lose to Coyotes, 3-2, lose Williams to a broken leg

Sports Columnist

Dec. 26, 2009 8:51 PM PT

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Playing without right wing Justin Williams, who suffered a broken leg early in the first period according to Coach Terry Murray, the Kings on Saturday fought valiantly but made too many defensive mistakes and fell to the Coyotes, 3-2, at Jobing.com Arena.

The Kings trailed, 2-1, for much of the game but pulled even on their first power-play goal in six games, a backhander by Michal Handzus at 3:58 of the third period. It was his first goal since Nov. 5.

But the Coyotes regained the lead at 9:20 after a giveaway by Corey Elkins and a deer-in-the-headlights play by Davis Drewiske in front of his own net that allowed Keith Yandle to convert his own rebound. The Kings have now lost three of their last four games and have lost back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 18-21.

The Kings are saying only that Williams has a lower-body injury and that he will be re-evaluated Sunday. It looked bad -- he was taken off the ice on a stretcher, with his right leg carefully protected -- but they have declined to specify the nature of the injury.

More later at www.latimes.com/sports

-- Helene Elliott, from Glendale, Ariz.

Sports Now

Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott was with the Los Angeles Times’ Sports department from 1989 to 2024, first as a staff writer and then, starting in 2006, as a columnist. She became the first female journalist to be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame of a major professional sport as the 2005 winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Award, awarded to writers “who have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.” A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she has covered 18 Olympics.