Laperriere Knows What His Role Is

He’s not on the ice to score, or to set up the rest of his line to score. Ian Laperriere knows he’s there to hit people.

Not that he wouldn’t like a goal or two.

“It’s always great to score goals,” he said Saturday. “At least I think it’s great.”

He laughed, because he has only one goal and his assist Wednesday had set up Matt Johnson’s goal, both actions a relative rarity.

“For sure, my job is to play physical,” Laperriere said. “When you hit someone, the whole team responds.”

That has been the case in recent games, with the Kings playing more physically as players return from injuries. Laperriere has had his own injury problems. He is playing with a partially torn knee ligament that he says is healing sufficiently enough that it won’t need surgery.

“Some games you feel it,” he said, “but not usually. Guys play with it. If you think about it, you’ll hurt it more.”

He has plenty of time between shifts to think about it. Laperriere generally plays eight to nine minutes a game, much of that spent in killing penalties, yielding the preponderance of even-strength playing time to the offensive lines.

But on Saturday night, he joined a more offensive line, taking a few shifts as a winger in place of injured Glen Murray on a line centered by Olli Jokinen.

Doug Bodger was scratched again Saturday, still feeling the effects of a collision with Dallas Drake of the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday.

It’s the second game Bodger has sat out because of the injury.

“I hope I can skate [today],” he said. “But I don’t know. If I don’t get back soon, I’m going to miss more games than he will.”

Drake was suspended four games by the NHL for the hit.