Switch Happened in the Line of Duty

Lines have been shuffled, but the long and short of it is that only two players have been swapped.

Midway through a 7-6 victory over Ottawa a week ago, when the Kings were trailing by four goals, Coach Andy Murray threw together units that consisted of anybody he figured could score.

The King rally fostered an idea that he should leave those units together, which is why Ian Laperriere and Eric Belanger are skating with Nelson Emerson, who is 5 feet 10, 180 pounds.

Maybe.

And why Bob Corkum and Kelly Buchberger are with Stu Grimson, who is 6-5, 241.

At least.

Emerson and Grimson merely changed lines.

Perhaps strangely, the player most affected is Laperriere, though he said Wednesday he enjoyed playing on a line with Grimson because “of his physical presence. He gave us some space out there.”

With Emerson on the line, it takes on a more offensive scope. Belanger, who has been impressive physically, is still an offensive center and Emerson is an offensive wing who has been playing in a checking role most of the season.

“Our main goal is still to play physically and not be scored against,” Laperriere said. “That doesn’t change, whether it’s Stu or Nelly on the line.”

Still, offensive opportunities should become more plentiful.

“Well, I know that Eric has tremendous offensive skills and so does Nelly,” Laperriere said. “My job is to play physically.”

It’s more than that.

“One thing we’re seeing is that Lappy is playing more with the puck,” Murray said. “We expect that his defensive role won’t change.”

Murray has fashioned what he calls a “stopper” line since he has coached the Kings. The role of that line has been to take on the opposition’s top-scoring unit, and Buchberger and Corkum have been the core of the “stoppers,” with Laperriere and Emerson at various times playing on the other wing. But with the emergence of Belanger, and his play when combined with Laperriere--”I don’t know, maybe it’s the language,” Laperriere says, laughing--has thrown more elements into the mix and now there are two “stopper” units.

And one that is expected to generate more offense, while offering Laperriere more ice time.

“That’s been great,” he said. “That’s all I want, to play.”

*

King center Steve Reinprecht is considering wearing a visor for tonight’s game after being hit near his left eye with a stick in Monday night’s game at Philadelphia.

The cut required five stitches to close and is extremely close to the eye opening. But, said Reinprecht, wearing the visor would be a temporary thing, only until the wound heals.

*

King captain Rob Blake has been named a starter for the North American team in the Feb. 4 All-Star game at Denver, replacing injured Chris Pronger of St. Louis. Blake will be paired with Colorado’s Ray Bourque.

TONIGHT

vs. Calgary, 7:30

* Site--Staples Center.

* Radio--KSPN (1110).

* Records--Kings 22-18-7-1, Flames 16-19-9-4.

* Record vs. Flames--1-0.

* Update--Calgary ended a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) with a 4-2 victory over Detroit on Sunday, then lapsed into a familiar problem in a 4-2 loss to Phoenix on Tuesday. Get there early tonight, because the problem is the first-shot blues. The Flames have been scored upon on opponents’ first shots in 11 of their 48 games. The victim was goalie Mike Vernon on Tuesday, and he eventually was supplanted by Fred Brathwaite, who is expected to start tonight. Brathwaite carries a 2.41 goals-against average. Vernon was the losing goalie in the 5-0 loss to the Kings on Jan. 6.

* Tickets--(888) 546-4752.