Motivation Is High for Kings, Ducks

One team got thumped, 7-0, Wednesday while the other dropped an 8-0 heartbreaker. No doubt, the hockey gods will be watching closely today at Staples Center when the Kings and Mighty Ducks meet to decide who had the tougher week. Faceoff is 3 p.m.

The Kings are fighting for a playoff spot, hoping to strengthen their grip on eighth place in the overheated Western Conference race. The Ducks are fighting for respect, looking for an escape route from the conference cellar.

By game’s end, it will be known whether the Kings suffered a key loss of momentum in the wake of their 7-0 whomping to the Edmonton Oilers. Or whether Wednesday’s rout simply provided the Kings with a harsh reminder of what it takes to be more than a playoff pretender.

The Kings are 9-3-2 since Felix Potvin took over the goaltending duties after a Feb. 15 trade from the Vancouver Canucks. Two of those losses were against Edmonton and the third was against the Ducks.

Wednesday’s franchise-record 8-0 drubbing against the Dallas Stars notwithstanding, the Ducks actually have been competitive in recent weeks. The Ducks are 8-9-2-1 in their last 20 games and have won six of their last nine.

Plus, the Ducks have won their last two against the Kings by identical scores of 4-0, so this game figures to be every bit as challenging for the Kings as any of their final nine.

The Kings will be bolstered by the return of center Jozef Stumpel, who has been sidelined since suffering a broken rib in a 4-0 loss March 4 to the Ducks at the Arrowhead Pond. Bryan Smolinski had been centering the Kings’ top line, but Stumpel is expected to play between wingers Luc Robitaille and Ziggy Palffy today.

“Really, all that is secondary to us,” King Coach Andy Murray said when asked about facing the team’s Southland rival for the fifth and final time this season. “We’re trying to get to the playoffs. The Ducks are obviously a good rival, but I don’t think anything matters to us than getting the two points right now.”

Said Duck Coach Guy Charron: “The season series is tied [at two wins apiece]. They’re playing for a playoff spot. We’re trying to be a .500 team after the all-star break. Both teams have reasons to make this a special game.”

Certainly, it can’t possibly be any worse than Wednesday’s twin debacles. The loss was the Ducks’ first by an eight-goal margin in their eight-season history. The Kings’ loss was their widest margin of defeat this season.

“We only gave up 17 shots against Edmonton and put 64 pucks toward their net [28 were official shots on goal],” Murray said. “First of all, Felix Potvin has been tremendous for us. The thing I was upset about is that when we needed some help last week against San Jose, he was there for us. Felix needed our help against Edmonton and we didn’t take care of business.”

Murray chucked his customary videotape session with the team Friday morning, deciding it wasn’t worth rehashing so many breakdowns. Instead, he drove home the message that the team simply didn’t play with the required grit and energy against Edmonton.

Asked if he expected the Kings to treat the loss to the Oilers as an aberration, Murray said, “I hope so. I assume before every game that the guys are going to be ready to play. We tried to tell our guys that if you lose during the playoffs, you have to bounce back and win the next game. We’re basically playing playoff games right now.”