Ailing Deadmarsh Is Sidelined Again

Adam Deadmarsh had scored four goals in five games for the Kings after sitting out nine games because of a concussion, but he was sidelined again Tuesday because of an undetermined ailment affecting his equilibrium.

“He’s not feeling right,” Coach Andy Murray said of the veteran winger, who leads the Kings with 13 goals in 20 games. “We don’t know if it’s an inner-ear infection; it happened late last night. He couldn’t sleep.”

The Kings aren’t sure if his symptoms are related to the concussion he suffered Nov. 12 when hit by Aki Berg of the Toronto Maple Leafs, or perhaps a new injury. More tests are scheduled today.

His absence opened a spot in the lineup for rookie Jared Aulin, who was recalled Sunday from the Kings’ American Hockey League team at Manchester, N.H., and made his NHL debut Tuesday night against the St. Louis Blues.

Aulin, 20, was considered a top prospect in the Colorado Avalanche organization before the Kings acquired him in the February 2001 trade that sent All-Star defenseman Rob Blake to the Avalanche.

“It was tough,” Aulin said of the trade, which also brought Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller to the Kings. “But at the same time it was a situation where Colorado didn’t just give me away. L.A. got to choose who they wanted, so I wasn’t traded for being a bad player. It was a trade where someone else wanted me.”

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Lubomir Visnovsky returned to the lineup after sitting out nine games because of a back injury, while Derek Armstrong was put on the injured reserve list because of a groin injury.... Mikko Eloranta, who has scored two goals in 26 games, none in 12 since he returned from a knee injury, was a healthy scratch for the first time in 13 months. “We’re trying to find a little more scoring,” Murray said.

-- Jerry Crowe