Smolinski Makes Smooth Transition

He was a center for most of his career, and that means eight NHL seasons, but now, said Bryan Smolinski, “I consider myself a player on Ziggy [Palffy] and Stumpy’s [Jozef Stumpel] line.”

His job definition is winger, but that’s a subjective thing.

“Really, in our system, the only time anybody is a center is on the faceoff,” King Coach Andy Murray said.

Smolinski no longer does much of that.

“You know,” he added, “if I went back to center, it would probably take me a game or two to adjust.”

Smolinski began the season centering a line between Luc Robitaille and Glen Murray, managed to work his way down to the fourth line and then to Andy Murray’s doghouse.

He spent the final period of a 2-2 tie with Detroit on the bench Nov. 11, and the Kings rallied for their two goals with him watching.

A trade in his future?

Scratch?

No. At the next Kings’ practice, Smolinski found himself as a winger on the line with Palffy and Stumpel, replacing Tomas Vlasak after that experiment didn’t work. From fourth-line center to benched veteran to No. 1 right winger in a matter of days is a dizzying trip, and Smolinski said right away that he was a center playing winger.

No more.

He has been a winger since and played his 25th game in the position Saturday night against St. Louis. He had nine of his 12 goals and 14 of his 22 assists over that period.

Most of the other points came when he was a favored performer on the No. 1 power play when Stumpel was holding out.

“I think I have adjusted very very well,” Smolinski said.

Andy Murray agreed.

“Bryan Smolinski has been playing great hockey for us,” he said.

Smolinski tends to offer a simple job description for his role--”Get the puck to Ziggy or Stumpy and go to the net”--but it hasn’t been that easy. His job is providing grit to a line that really has little. On Saturday night, it also was offering energy to a line that lacked it, save when Stumpel scored on an opening-period power play.

“He’s there to provide a defensive conscience on that line,” Murray said of Smolinski.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that Smolinski’s skills can take the night off. His goal Thursday night was a thing of beauty, a shot that beat Dominik Hasek and, eventually, the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2, in the third period. It was launched from the slot while on the move.

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Those coming to Staples Center Saturday night looking for a reprise of the Stu Grimson fight with the Blues’ Reid Simpson were disappointed when Simpson was announced as a healthy scratch after taking two bad penalties two nights earlier at San Jose.

Grimson knocked out Simpson with one punch in their game at St. Louis on Dec. 28, then spent anxious moments after the game until being told that Simpson was OK.

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The Kings sent winger Marko Tuomainen back to Lowell of the AHL in what they called a “conditioning” assignment. Actually, he was sent back to play in the AHL All-Star game at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on Monday night.

Tuomainen will rejoin the Kings on Tuesday at Ottawa.