Berg Accepts Being Benched

King defenseman Aki Berg learned Wednesday afternoon he was scratched for that night’s game against Detroit and apparently took it well.

“He said he hadn’t played well since about the eighth game,” Coach Andy Murray said.

Berg had been victimized by Pittsburgh’s Jaromir Jagr twice a night earlier in Pittsburgh, and King coaches have frequently counseled him about inconsistency.

Part of the reason he had been kept in the lineup was because of his in-and-out handling by the previous coaching staff.

Skating in Berg’s place was Jaroslav Modry, himself scratched for all of the Kings’ first 14 games.

“It was exciting to finally be part of the team,” said Modry, who was paired with Sean O’Donnell and also had time on the power play and penalty-killing unit. He finished with 24 shifts for 18:47.

“I thought Modry played great,” Murray said.

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Winger Glen Murray returned to the lineup after a night off in Pittsburgh, courtesy of a bruise-inducing shot off his right leg in Monday’s practice.

With Murray returning, Jason Blake joined Berg in street clothes, though that decision was not made until game time because King coaches wanted to see if Murray’s leg would hold up during the pregame skate.

It was the first time Blake has been scratched in his brief NHL career, and the decision left the Kings with an all-winger fourth line of Vladimir Tsyplakov, Steve McKenna and Dan Bylsma.

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With the 1-1 tie at Detroit, the Kings have a 9-3-3 record, worth 21 points.

After 15 games last season, they were 5-7-3, worth 13 points.

It took them 32 games, until Dec. 20, to get to 21 points last season.

With 50 goals, they are among the highest-scoring teams in the NHL. It took them 23 games to score 50 goals last season.