Vachon Turns Proud Dad as Son Debuts

Rogie Vachon and his wife, Nicole, watched their son Nick play in his first NHL game Tuesday night. Nick Vachon, who played for Phoenix--the Kings’ International Hockey League affiliate--the last two seasons was traded to the New York Islanders in November and was called up from the minors on Sunday.

“This is an exciting time for [Nick],” said Rogie Vachon, the former King goalie and current chief of hockey operations. “He will never forget that first game. I still vividly remember mine.”

*

Kai Nurminen’s goal in the first period against the Islanders came close to being the Kings’ third short-handed score of the season. With Ray Ferraro seconds away from completing a two-minute interference penalty, Dimitri Khristich picked up the puck and skated almost the length of the ice before passing to Nurminen, who scored his fifth goal of the season the same time Ferraro returned to the ice.

The only Kings to score short-handed have been Eddie Olczyk and Jaroslav Modry.

*

Left winger Kevin Stevens, who played several seasons in the Eastern Conference with Pittsburgh and Boston, did not score against the Islanders, but he had a busy night checking and was involved in several scuffles and had six penalty minutes.

“There are certain guys you always battle. . . . It goes back to when I played for Pittsburgh,” Stevens said. “The same defensemen, who I’ve had differences with. Just the way the game is. You never give an inch or at least you try not to.”