Buchberger Gets to Play in Place of Laperriere

Kelly Buchberger, sidelined since March 9 because of a sprained right ankle, returned to the King lineup Tuesday night in place of Ian Laperriere, who was back home in Manhattan Beach with his wife, Magali, and their son, Tristan, born Monday night.

Laperriere, the only King who had played in all 72 games this season, is expected to rejoin the team today at Edmonton.

“He talked about flying back today,” Coach Andy Murray said before the Kings’ game against the Vancouver Canucks, “but he should be with his family, so we told him to stay there. There are more important things than hockey....

“You get more out of your players when you treat them right, I think. He’ll respect that. Look at what he does for us every night and how hard he plays. He didn’t even have to ask. I told him, ‘Meet us in Edmonton.’”

Buchberger, who sat out seven games after playing in 243 in a row, could have returned earlier, but Murray was reluctant to alter the lineup.

The Kings were 6-0 in the veteran winger’s absence before losing Sunday to the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-0.

“We wanted to get him in there, but you have to have credibility with your team,” Murray said. “As much as you want a guy like Kelly Buchberger in there, you have to justify taking somebody else out.

“I don’t think Kelly Buchberger has to earn anything with us. It’s just a situation of, could we give him a few days more to get even better knowing that the lineup we’ve got has performed pretty well.”

*

With 18 victories on the road, the Kings are three short of the club record, established in the 1980-81 season, when they were 21-13-6 away from home.

Only two other times in their 35-year history have the Kings won as many as 20 road games. They play four of their last nine games away from home: Thursday at Edmonton, Saturday at Calgary, April 11 at Vancouver and April 13 at San Jose.