Fiset Is Forced to Leave Because of Knee Injury

ST. PAUL, Minn. —  King goalie Stephane Fiset has another date with an MRI machine today after he was run over by Minnesota’s Wes Walz, who in the process scored the Wild’s first goal in its 4-3 victory Friday night.

“I don’t know what happened. I was watching the puck,” said Fiset, who injured the same knee that kept him out of the season’s first 25 games after he suffered a strained ligament in an exhibition game in September.

Because of the initial injury, he was wearing a knee brace.

“For sure, I’m 100% sure that saved me,” said Fiset, who was replaced by Jamie Storr after the play, which occurred with 56 seconds gone in the second period of what was then a 0-0 game.

On the play, the Kings’ Jozef Stumpel fired a shot that was stopped, the puck going to Minnesota’s Antti Laaksonen, who forwarded it to Walz at center ice.

Walz steamed goalward until he was hooked by King defenseman Aki Berg and fell. While skidding on the ice, Walz swept his stick at the puck, sending it at Fiset, who rejected the shot. Still skidding, Walz swiped at the rebound near Fiset’s left leg and hit the limb, the puck going into the net an instant before it was dislodged.

Fiset was down for several minutes after turning back nine of 10 shots.

The injury is being called a severe sprain, but chances are that the Kings will recall another goalie for games after Christmas.

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With the Kings being deluged by goals, Coach Andy Murray switched some defensive pairings, moving Berg into a tandem with Lubomir Visnovsky and moving Visnovsky’s partner, Mathieu Schneider, into a pairing with Jere Karalahti.

Rob Blake remained with Mattias Norstrom.

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Murray and winger Craig Johnson were a shot in the gate for the Wild, which really doesn’t need it, having sold out every game in its existence.

Murray, who coached at Shattuck St. Mary’s, a high school 45 minutes from the Xcel Energy Center, bought 300 tickets for Friday night’s game. Johnson, who grew up 15 minutes from the building, bought 50.