Robinson Keeps Lineup Intact

The Kings held an optional morning skate before Monday night’s game against Ottawa, and Coach Larry Robinson and captain Rob Blake opted instead to meet and discuss the lineup.

Specifically, Robinson wanted to change it. Blake didn’t.

And on Monday, the same Kings who beat Detroit and Vancouver last week tried their luck against Ottawa.

“I had thought of maybe getting the two guys who have been injured [wingers Vladimir Tsyplakov and Steve McKenna] in the lineup,” said Robinson, who has spent much of the season shuffling what healthy bodies he has been able to find on and off the ice.

Last Thursday, Blake and alternate captains Luc Robitaille, Doug Bodger and Garry Galley met with Robinson to coax him into a reward-punishment system of playing the rest of the season. Reward: keep the players in the lineup who are winning. The punishment comes when the winning stops.

“I’m still the coach, and the ultimate decision is mine,” Robinson said. “But I’m not a guy who. . . . it’s my way or no other way. You’ve got to listen to the people who are playing.”

And so Tsyplakov and McKenna sat Monday night.

“We had to get across the lines of communication,” said Blake, suddenly assertive after years of reticence off the ice. “I’ll run the dressing room. I’ll take that responsibility, but Larry has to listen to what I have to say. That’s the good thing about Larry: he’s willing to listen.”

And to not act after hearing.

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After scoring 10 short-handed goals in their first 35 games, the Kings have only one in the last 30. They are tied with Calgary with 11 short-handed goals, four behind league-leader Vancouver.