Road Has Taken Its Toll Early

The Kings have fallen behind early in each of their first four games and one reason could be the team’s travel problems.

After rallying from a two-goal deficit for a tie at Pittsburgh to begin the season, the Kings had bus problems in Boston and did not reach their hotel until 3 a.m. They lost to the Bruins, 6-5, that night.

Then, after a 2-2 tie against the Rangers at New York on Sunday, their charter plane had mechanical problems. The Kings had to wait for a replacement plane to arrive from Oakland and did not check into their hotel in Greensboro, N.C. until 6 a.m. Monday.

“I would attribute our slow starts to being on the road,” defenseman Rob Blake said. “We’ve been away from home for a long time. The good thing is that we’ve been able to come back from the deficits.”

Even Coach Larry Robinson has struggled with the team’s travel woes.

“Trips like this definitely wear a team down,” Robinson said. “Everybody is very tired. I know that we are as coaches and we’re not playing. So imagine how the players feel. They’ve been handling the [road problems] very well, all things considered.”

*

Tonight’s game at St. Louis will end the Kings’ five-game trip. A victory over the Blues will give the Kings a 1-1-3 start going into their home opener Sunday against Ottawa, which would make Robinson happy.

“That’s the nice thing about [the trip],” he said. “A win at St. Louis will have us going home at .500. I would be pleased with that.”

The Kings expect a sellout Sunday. Fewer than 1,000 tickets remain.

TONIGHT

at St. Louis

* 5:30 p.m.

* Fox Sports West

Opponent--St. Louis Blues.

Site--Kiel Center.

TV--Fox Sports West.

Radio--XTRA (690).

Records--Kings 0-1-3, Blues 2-1.

Record vs. Blues--1-3 (1996-97 season).

Update--After scoring three power-play goals in their season opener at Pittsburgh, the Kings have scored only once in their last 13 power-play opportunities the last three games. King Coach Larry Robinson said the effort has been there but the team has had problems finding the net. “We’re getting our chances,” he said after the Kings’ 3-3 tie at Carolina on Tuesday. “But [King opponents] have been getting pretty solid play in the net.” Four players are tied for the team lead with two goals each, Garry Galley, Luc Robitaille, Jozef Stumpel and Donald MacLean. Goaltender Stephane Fiset is expected to start tonight after Frederic Chabot got the call at Carolina, his first NHL start in more than four years. Center Ray Ferraro was placed on injured reserve because of a left knee injury. This will be the final game of a five-game trip for the Kings. St. Louis will be without center Pierre Turgeon, who is sidelined because of a broken wrist. Terry Yake will probably replace Turgeon in the lineup but Pavol Demitra is expected to center the Brett Hull line. Defenseman Steve Duchesne leads the Blues with five points and fellow defenseman Al MacInnis has a team-high three goals.