Momentum Took U-Turn on Road

The Kings’ first trip to Canada this season has not been kind. With back-to-back losses at Montreal and Ottawa, any momentum the Kings had after a 7-3-1 stretch, including a 4-1 victory over New Jersey at the Forum on Nov. 29, is now gone.

“We’re going to have to regroup now. . . . When we left L.A., we were thinking about three wins on this road trip,” goaltender Stephane Fiset said. “Now, we have two losses and we don’t want to lose three games.”

Over their last six games, the Kings--who will conclude their three-game trip tonight at Toronto--have averaged only 1.9 goals a game after averaging 3.8 in their previous nine games.

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Forward Roman Vopat, who was sent down to Fredericton of the American Hockey League earlier this week, was recalled Friday. . . . Defenseman Aki Berg suffered a bruised foot in the Kings’ 3-2 loss at Ottawa on Thursday and is questionable for tonight’s game against the Maple Leafs. . . . Because of their speed, Russ Courtnall and Craig Johnson could be used more to help with the Kings’ struggling power play, which has produced only one goal in the last seven games.

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The Kings spent Thursday night in Ottawa because their charter plane was unable to leave Montreal because of weather problems. Tonight’s game will be the first of four this season against the Maple Leafs. Next season, however, Toronto will move to the Eastern Conference and may play the Kings only once.

TONIGHT

at

Toronto

* 4:30 PST

* Fox Sports

West 2

Site--Maple Leaf Gardens.

Radio--XTRA 690.

Records--Kings 12-11-5, Maple Leafs 8-14-4.

Record vs. Maple Leafs (1996-97)--3-0-1.

Update--Yanic Perreault, the Kings’ top goal scorer with 15, has only one goal in his last eight games. Fiset has faced Toronto only four times in his career and is expected to start tonight. The Maple Leafs are 3-6-1 over their last 10 games. Igor Korolev leads Toronto with nine goals.