Deal to play exhibitions in Austria appears likely

The Kings are near an agreement to play two exhibitions in Salzburg, Austria, part of a two-day tournament before they open the 2007-08 NHL season in London, a hockey source in Europe said.

Red Bull Salzburg of the Austrian Hockey League is to play host to the four-team tournament. A spokesman for AEG, which owns the Kings, declined to comment, but the source in Europe said a deal was set and only awaiting final details.

The Kings will split their training camp between Southern California and Europe in September. They will open the regular season with two games at the O2 Arena in London, which was built by AEG, and probably will face the Ducks. The Vancouver Canucks are also being considered for those games.

Besides the tournament in Salzburg, the Kings expect to play other exhibitions in Europe, with one in Slovenia being considered. The Kings’ Anze Kopitar, the first Slovenian-born player to reach the NHL, is one of the top rookies this season.

The Kings are expected to make an official announcement in early March.

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Goaltender Sean Burke is 3-1 lifetime in shootouts after a 4-3 victory over the Ducks on Sunday. He was undefeated with Tampa Bay last season, then lost to the Lightning on Feb. 6.

“I like them,” Burke said of shootouts. “But I would hate to see a division title or playoff spot decided by one.”

The Kings needn’t worry about that this season. They’re 19 points out of the final playoff spot in the West and have 21 games to play.

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Former King Sean Avery showed another side of himself to his new team after the New York Rangers’ 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Avery directed a postgame tantrum at Flyers assistant coach Craig Berube in the hallway between the dressing rooms.

Berube’s resume includes 3,149 penalty minutes in 1,054 NHL games.

chris.foster@latimes.com