King’s Horror Story Is Finally Finished : Hockey: After being scratched the previous five games, Duck forward gets his first goal since Oct. 13 and only second of season.

Steven King couldn’t score goals, so the Mighty Ducks scratched him and stuck him in the press box. He couldn’t score from there, either, and felt twice as frustrated.

He wondered what was going on, what had happened to his game.

The Ducks, who made King the first forward selected in the expansion draft, asked the same questions.

A goal-scorer who can’t score? Certainly, King ranked as one of the Ducks’ biggest disappointments.

So he sat and pondered his future, going so far as to think he might be traded.

When it got bad, he reminded himself that these things go in cycles and he would snap out of it soon.

But when?

Friday, King scored his first goal since Oct. 13, giving him reason to think better days are ahead. Surely, it can’t get much worse.

“I kind of forgot what it’s like to score a goal,” King said after the Ducks lost to San Jose, 4-3, at Anaheim Arena. “My confidence still isn’t sky high right now, but it’s getting there.”

Scoring opportunities have been there the last few games, and that has been encouraging for King, who played in his sixth consecutive game Friday after being scratched for five in a row.

You can’t score if you don’t have chances and sometimes King felt like an observer even when he was playing.

“It felt like Ping-Pong on the ice,” he said. “It seemed like I was just skating up and down without ever touching the puck. Goals come when the chances come.”

Until Friday, King had no assists and only the one goal, and that against the woeful Edmonton Oilers 21 games ago.

You had to wonder what the Ducks were thinking when they drafted this guy. Did he really score seven goals with five assists in 24 games for the New York Rangers last season? Was he really a 100-point scorer for Binghamton, the Rangers’ AHL affiliate?

Couldn’t be.

Next to such late picks as Anatoli Semenov (15th forward selected, a team-leading 22 points), Bob Corkum (14th, 16 points) and Terry Yake (ninth, 14 points), King’s selection seemed like a mistake.

King also mulled over those facts as he sat idle for that five-game stretch.

“It was frustrating,” he said. “I came here to play. You try to stay positive, but it’s hard sitting out and watching from the press box. No matter what, you want to be in there playing.

“I’d go home and wonder what the heck was going on. I’d try to come to practice and work hard. I definitely got down on myself. That’s a tough habit to break. Hopefully, I’ll start to chip in my fair share.”

Funny how a little ice time and a goal can change a man’s outlook.

“I learned all I need to know about sitting in the press box,” King said. “The more you play, the more confident you get. I’m getting more confidence and feel (my game) coming back.”