Time to Sink or Swim for L.A. Against Sharks

The Kings were rolling on a 7-1-1 run when they last played San Jose.

They were tied with the Sharks for eighth place in the Western Conference. And then they shot themselves in the foot, getting blown out, 5-1, on Jan. 11.

“That was the start of our slide,” defenseman Rob Blake said Friday. “And they went on a seven- or eight-game run.”

Actually, it was more of a walk, the Sharks going 3-4-2 since, but that was enough to put the stumbling Kings back in a hole.

Since then they have been 3-6.

And tonight, the teams can do it again.

“This is definitely an important game,” Coach Larry Robinson said. “We’ve got to take advantage of how they’re coming here, on a long road trip, after a loss [Thursday] night in Phoenix and they’ve got to go back to Phoenix.”

It’s a proverbial four-point game against a team the Kings need to overtake to get back in the playoff race.

“Every game is a four-point game with us now,” Robinson said.

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Defenseman Philippe Boucher, who has been scratched for 18 of the last 19 games, said Friday, “It’s not working out here.”

His agent, Pat Brisson, hoped a trade could be worked out.

Boucher, who has played parts of five seasons with the Kings since coming in via trade from Buffalo, played early in the season but has struggled for ice time since the return of injured Kings Blake and Doug Bodger, and with the reemergence of Garry Galley.

“It’s really not easy,” Boucher said of trying to stay prepared. “You want to be out there and play. There’s nothing I can do right now.”

Tonight

vs. San Jose

7:30, Fox Sports West

* Site--Great Western Forum.

* Radio--KRLA (1110).

* Records--Kings 18-28-4, Sharks 16-21-12.

* Record vs. Sharks--1-2.

* Update--This is the second game of a 10-game, 18-day trip for San Jose, a team that is 4-11-5 on the road. The Sharks began the trek on a downside Thursday at Phoenix, banging 15 futile shots in the first period against Nikolai Khabibulin, then losing, 3-1, to three second-period goals.

* Tickets--(888) 546-4752.