Johnson Suspended 4 Games

On Saturday, the NHL handed out suspensions arising from the Kings’ 3-2 loss at San Jose, and though eight players were ejected for their roles in a second-period brawl in Wednesday night’s game, only King forward Matt Johnson was punished.

Others were penalized for later infractions.

Johnson received a four-game suspension without pay and was fined $1,000 for instigating the fight when he knocked down and put his stick against the head of San Jose’s Andrei Nazarov.

King defenseman Rob Blake was also fined $1,000 and suspended two games because of a high stick he delivered under the chin of the Sharks’ Shean Donovan late in the third period.

Tony Granato, suspended for two games for instigating a fight at the end of the game, was the only Shark punished.

San Jose’s Al Iafrate, who charged Johnson from behind and swung his stick in the melee, and Nazarov, whose threw a blindside check on King goalie Stephane Fiset earlier in the period, were not punished. Nazarov is expected to be out for several weeks because of injuries sustained in the fight.

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In facing the Dallas Stars tonight, the Kings will be without forwards Dimitri Khristich and Kai Nurminen because of injuries. Khristich suffered an eye injury when he was hit by a stick in Friday’s practice, and Nurminen aggravated a season-long leg injury at San Jose.

Defenseman Doug Zmolek (irregular heartbeat) and forward Ian Laperriere (hip) are expected to play tonight after missing the last two games. Also, center Paul DiPietro was recalled from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the IHL.