Reinprecht Earns His Place

He is the forgotten man in the trade that sent All-Star defenseman Rob Blake to the Colorado Avalanche last season and brought Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller to the Kings.

As a rookie last season, center Steven Reinprecht helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup after the blockbuster February deal, although he hardly played a key role, contributing five points in 22 playoff games. He tied for fifth among rookies in regular-season scoring with 36 points in 80 games, among them 29 in 59 games with the Kings.

This season, with Peter Forsberg out of the lineup, Reinprecht stepped up. In 67 games, he had 19 goals and 27 assists, tied for fourth on the team with 46 points.

“We always talk about the Rob Blake deal and what it did for the L.A. Kings, getting Deadmarsh and Miller, and [the Avalanche] got Rob Blake,” King Coach Andy Murray said. “But the guy that’s scored some of the most unbelievable goals in the NHL this year has been Steven Reinprecht.

“Steven Reinprecht is a good player. He might have scored the nicest goal I saw this year in a game at Minnesota, and he got the tying goal against Dallas the other day.... Steven has really raised the level of his play.”

Reinprecht’s goal with 2:59 to play Sunday gave the Avalanche a 2-2 tie with the Dallas Stars, clinching the No. 2 playoff seeding in the Western Conference and a first-round matchup with L.A.

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The Kings announced that the starting times for Games 3 and 4 against the Avalanche on April 22 and 23 have been moved up 30 minutes to 7 p.m.