Johnson Likes His Role as Enforcer

King forward Matt Johnson, who leads the team in penalty minutes, had a busy week after completing a four-game league suspension for his role in a brawl against San Jose on Feb. 5.

Johnson, 21, scored his first goal of the season and the second of his career in the Kings’ 6-1 loss at Phoenix on Tuesday. But his reputation as an enforcer did not suffer as he got the better of the Mighty Ducks’ Peter LeBoutillier and Vancouver’s Gino Odjick among three fights he had last week.

So, what does Johnson enjoy more, scoring or fighting?

“I would say a knockout because that’s probably more my job right now,” Johnson said. “But, I want to be an all-around player.”

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King Coach Larry Robinson has wanted more offensive production from forward Vladimir Tsyplakov all season and he didn’t change his tune after Tsyplakov had three assists in the Kings’ 4-0 victory over Vancouver on Saturday.

“I would still like to see him shoot a lot more,” Robinson said. “He has such a good shot.”