Allison No Closer to Return

It has been a year since center Jason Allison last played in a game, 365 days of frustration that began with a whiplash injury against New Jersey, and a return date still is as opaque as ever.

Allison remains an invisible part of the Kings, showing up as early as 7 a.m. for off-ice workouts at the team training complex and often leaving before the rest of the team arrives hours later.

He has not skated in more than a month and still feels symptoms that include blurry vision and light-headedness, contributing to a prolonged absence that led to tensions last month when Allison disputed Coach Andy Murray’s assessment that Allison had been medically cleared to play. Allison called it “basically a lie” and defended his condition.

Allison, 28, declined to comment for this story. A team policy initiated last month forbids King employees from talking to reporters about Allison, with the exception of General Manager Dave Taylor.

Taylor said Allison went to concussion specialist Karen Johnston in Canada last week for a second time. Johnston said Allison would have to string together five symptom-free days before embarking on a progressive program that could lead to his return to the ice, Taylor said.

“He’s still having symptoms, unfortunately,” Taylor said. “It’s a little frustrating.... We’d like to know what our lineup would be like with all of our players in it.”

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Detroit Red Wing defenseman Jiri Fischer was suspended for one game because he head-butted King forward Ian Laperriere while the two were fighting in last Thursday’s game.... Red Wing defenseman Niklas Kronwall will sit out three months because of a broken right leg he sustained during warmups before last Thursday’s game at Staples Center.... King right wing John Tripp was put on the injured reserve list because of a broken nose he sustained in a Jan. 18 fight with Chicago’s Johnathan Aitken.

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Duck forward Joffrey Lupul was selected to play in the NHL young stars game, which will be held Feb. 7 in St. Paul, Minn. Lupul, 20, has seven goals and 20 points, ranking him in the top 10 for rookies.

“I think he is playing close to how we thought he would,” Duck General Manager Bryan Murray said. “We think he is going to get better the second half. He is established on a line that is going to get a lot ice time.”

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Times staff writer Chris Foster contributed to this report.