Upbeat Attitude Gives Team Lift

Three times this season, the Kings have had winning streaks of at least three games, but what has distinguished their current five-game stretch has been the team’s attitude in practice.

“Everyone is upbeat and positive now,” defenseman Mattias Norstrom said. “It all starts in practice. We’ve been together and sharp in practice and it’s carried over.”

Coach Larry Robinson said the team is back to concentrating on defensive position after struggling when it tried to become an offensive team.

“Early in the season we were playing somewhat like we are now but we were losing games by a few goals,” Robinson said. “So, we decided that we were not scoring enough. We tried to do some things and we started giving up 45-50 shots a game playing that way.”

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Forward Dimitri Khristich was ejected for slashing Vancouver’s Scott Walker in the second period of the Kings’ 3-0 victory over the Canucks on Saturday. Khristich’s hit did not appear intentional and Walker played the entire third period, which is why Khristich may not get the normal two-game league suspension.

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After being the last NHL team to have a 20-goal scorer, the Kings now have two. Ray Ferraro joined Eddie Olczyk with his 20th against the Canucks.