Points Title Isn’t Palffy’s Main Goal

Although he wouldn’t mind leading the league in scoring, right wing Ziggy Palffy is more concerned about keeping the Kings on a roll than maintaining his NHL lead in points.

Palffy, who entered Saturday night’s game against Detroit with a league-high 25 points in 18 games, said he’s been scoring (13 points over his previous 10 games) because the Kings have been playing together as a team with every line making a contribution.

“If you’re going to try and play your game and stick with the system . . . it doesn’t matter who is getting the points,” said Palffy, second in the league in assists. “It’s about winning games.

“We have different lines now and it’s working. We have a lot of power on all four lines.”

It’s no coincidence that Palffy’s scoring streak began once fellow Slovakia native Jozef Stumpel signed a three-year contract and returned to center his line. Like Palffy, Stumpel has been on a scoring tear with six goals in his last nine games heading into Saturday’s game.

Palffy is on pace to challenge his career season-best of 90 points, reached when he played for the New York Islanders in 1996-97. But after playing six seasons and never advancing beyond the first round of the playoffs, Palffy’s sights are set on the Kings finishing among the top teams in the Western Conference.

“It’s going to be hard because our division is very strong,” Palffy said. “We have to put a lot of points on the board.”

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Broadcaster Bob Miller will leave for Toronto today to take part in this year’s Hockey Hall of Fame ceremonies, where he will receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award on Monday. Miller is in his 28th season and has broadcast more than 2,300 King games.