Battle Now Is for Home Ice

With 17 games remaining in the regular season, the Kings still have a chance to catch St. Louis for the final home-ice advantage berth for the playoffs.

The Blues lead the Kings by seven points for fourth position in the Western Conference but St. Louis has played 68 games to the the Kings’ 65. The teams still have one game to play against each other on April 16 at the Great Western Forum.

If the Kings are to make a serious move, their next two games will be important. They will play at San Jose tonight and host Dallas on Tuesday. The Blues have a six-day break and do not play again until Saturday.

“We watch the standings all the time. . . . but like I’ve said all along, the only thing you have control over is your next game,” Coach Larry Robinson said. “Worry about things you have control over, watch the [standings] but don’t let it bother you.”

Seven of the Kings final 17 games will be against teams with a better than .500 record, while the Blues will play nine of 14 games against teams under .500.

Tonight

at San Jose

* 7:30

* Fox Sports West

Site--San Jose Arena.

Radio--XTRA 690 (AM).

Records--Kings 31-23-11; Sharks 26-32-7.

Season record vs. Sharks 2-0.

Update--The Kings and Sharks will play three times in the next 11 days. The Kings have won four of their last five games and have outscored San Jose, 10-5, this season. Jozef Stumpel returned to the lineup and had an assist in the Kings’ 5-2 win over Colorado on Saturday after missing three games because of a bruised kidney. San Jose is coming off a 2-1 win at Carolina on Saturday but the Sharks have lost two of their last three games. Jeff Friesen leads San Jose in scoring with 23 goals and 47 points.