Still Time to Turn Things Around

The Kings’ Friday morning skate was surprisingly upbeat considering the team is in the midst of a seven-game losing streak.

The Kings have been outscored, 33-15, during their 0-5-2 slide. With the Mighty Ducks, Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks all within striking distance, the Kings are reaching a point of desperation.

“We have 24 games left and I think we are going to need to win at least 16 of them, and that is something we all realize,” forward Sean Avery said. “That means we can lose eight. We just lost seven. We’ve got to wake up, big time, it’s do or die.”

Coach Andy Murray isn’t breaking down the numbers.

“To be honest, I would take just winning,” he said. “I’m not interested in cosmetics or anything like that.”

The rift between Murray and Avery seemed to reach an impasse Friday after it was announced that a new line of Avery, Jeremy Roenick and Michael Cammalleri would be used against the Chicago Blackhawks today.

Said Murray of Avery, “I hope he’s mad and wants to come back and make a point and play hard, and ultimately that’s what it is about.”

Avery, who was a healthy scratch the last two games, remained defiant, claiming that his benching was not going to alter his approach to the game.

“I don’t think what happened will change what I’ve done all year and how I will play,” he said.

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Nursing a strained neck and a sore jaw, defenseman Mattias Norstrom is still on the fence on whether he’ll make the trip to Italy for the Olympics, where he will play for Sweden.

“I’ll have to sit down with the team and make sure that I’m going over there healthy,” he said.

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TODAY

vs. Chicago, 1 p.m., FSN West

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 710.

Records -- Kings 30-23-5, Blackhawks 18-30-7.

Record vs. Blackhawks -- 2-0-0.

Update -- The Kings held an extra meeting after practice to go over their penalty killing, which has been atrocious. The Kings have allowed 17 power-play goals in their last seven games and have fallen to 27th in league rankings. The Kings and Blackhawks are two of the most penalized teams in the NHL.