Stumpel Returns From Injury

Center Jozef Stumpel may not have been at full strength, but his effort gave the Kings a lift in their 5-2 victory over Colorado on Saturday.

Stumpel, who had been sidelined since March 5 because of a bruised kidney, had an assist, giving him a team-high 64 points as he was on the ice for 22 minutes and 13 seconds, second only to Rob Blake’s 25:40 among King skaters.

“I was a little tired, but it’s nice to be back,” Stumpel said. “I didn’t have any pain and the good thing is that I didn’t get run over.”

For much of the game, Stumpel was matched against Colorado center Peter Forsberg’s line. Forsberg, who leads the Avalanche with 59 assists and 81 points, did not score a point and was a minus two for the game.

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The Kings have played well against Colorado and Detroit, two of the best teams in the NHL, but struggled against lower-level teams like Vancouver and Toronto.

“We have to play better teams well because if we don’t, we’ll be embarrassed,” Coach Larry Robinson said.

The Kings are 4-2-1 combined against Colorado and Detroit but 3-4-1 against Toronto and Vancouver.