Friday injury report

Both of the Kings’ injured defensemen, Davis Drewiske (shoulder) and Matt Greene (lower body) were on the ice for the entire practice today. Greene wore his regular black (defenseman’s) jersey while Drewiske wore the red jersey that usually designates an injured player. What was the difference today? Nothing that I could tell, since neither player seems to be headed for an imminent return.

Both are making progress though, and perhaps Greene is making accelerated progress. Terry Murray’s initial estimate was that Greene would be out “a few weeks,” making it a bit of a surprise that Greene would be on the ice after less than a week. Here’s what Murray and Greene said today, followed by an update from Drewiske…

MURRAY: “(Greene is) making progress, coming along probably ahead of the curve a little bit. He’s a pretty aggressive player in his rehab, and he’s going to do whatever he can to get back faster, as quickly as he can. The skating, the off-ice workout that’s going on, is real good stuff, and I’m excited to see that he’s participating as much as what he is. … Just (him) being on the ice and participating in the practice is ahead of schedule, in my opinion.”

GREENE: “It’s doing all right. Just talking to the trainers about it, I think I’m still a ways away, but it’s good to get out there and hang out a little bit. … I feel good out there, but I haven’t been hit yet and I haven’t given a hit. I think that’s where the injury really comes into play, once you get into battles. I haven’t done that, but I feel OK. It’s still going to be some time, plus I don’t think they really need me right now. Four-nothing. I think Harry [Peter Harrold] is doing a good job.”

And here’s Drewiske, on his status…

DREWISKE: “It’s good to get back on the ice and start to get some of the timing back and stuff. I’m not quite ready for contact yet, but it’s still good to get out there every day and get some of my conditioning back. It’s amazing how fast that you lose it when you’re not on the ice.”

Question: Are you without pain at this point?

DREWISKE: “I feel good. I’ve been feeling better every day, so that’s the good thing. I’ll just stick with the plan, the rehab plan, and keep doing the rehab and hopefully feel better every day and be back soon.”

Question: Terry has talked about how “hungry” you are to get back. It must be a tough time to sit and watch right now…

DREWISKE: “It’s an important part of the year, but at the same time, we’ve got seven or eight good defensemen. Me, at 80 percent, isn’t better than somebody at 100 percent, so it’s important for me, and for the team, to be healthy and be ready to contribute when I do come back.”