Murray talks Martinez injury, Voynov

As noted earlier, Alec Martinez did not practice today, and Terry Murray indicated that Martinez is likely headed to the injured-reserve list. Late in the first period Saturday, Martinez took a big hit from Minnesota’s Warren Peters and went shoulder-first into the glass. Martinez left the game briefly, but returned at the start of the second period, scored a goal and played the rest of the game. Martinez couldn’t practice today, though, and here’s what Murray said about Martinez’s status and the possibility that Slava Voynov will be called up from the AHL…

MURRAY: “He’s not going to be out there (playing) for a little bit. On that hit that he took against Minnesota the other night, he’s feeling it right now. He’s going to need a little bit of time to get himself rehabbed, get back healthy again and back into the lineup.”

Question: Is he headed for injured reserve?

MURRAY: “It’s a decision for above me, but the conversation that I had early morning, before Dean left to go to the general managers’ meetings, was that that was probably going to happen. It’s unfortunate. He came back and played. He sucked up a lot of discomfort in that game. He came back and scored a big goal on the power play and got himself through the game, playing pretty well. But as you get calmed down and the adrenaline starts to settle down, then you start to feel things. He spent all day yesterday at his place, just icing every 20 minutes or so to see how he was going to feel today, try to get some of the swelling out. It was a no-go.”

Murray was also asked about the possibility of calling up a defenseman. Davis Drewiske is on the roster but is a stay-at-home defenseman. Voynov is a natural replacement for Martinez in that specific role. In five games as a fill-in for Drew Doughty this season, Voynov had one three-point game and looked solid overall…

MURRAY: “(Calling up a defenseman is) probably going to happen. I’ll have more conversation about that here after practice, but that’s something that we’re going to have to take a look at, and probably make happen. As we go back to the time when Drew Doughty was out of the lineup with his shoulder, we need a player that’s going to fit into that kind of a role, where he’s going to play on the power play, a puck-mover, give us that special-teams look. Voynov is the player that was very good at it the last time, and he will probably get another opportunity.”