Palffy’s Scoring Touch Is Missing in Action

Late Saturday night in the Bell Centre, still smarting from a high stick to the mouth he’d taken during a 3-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, Ziggy Palffy said that his badly swollen lower lip wasn’t all that needed healing.

The Slovak winger, who scored a club-high 32 goals in 63 games last season, has scored one in nine this season, none since the second period of a 4-1 opening-night victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Oct. 9. In the six games since Jason Allison was sidelined because of a knee injury, he has two points.

“It is frustrating for me,” he said after the Kings had lost for the third time in four games. “I just don’t know what to say. It’s hard, you know. Everybody is trying, giving everything you can. Sometimes nothing is going your way.

“But I have to step up myself. I’m not playing well. I’m not playing my game. I have to help this team a little more.”

Palffy sat out six games because of a strained left groin, an injury that hampered his conditioning and still is not completely healed.

“It’s a little bit tight,” he said, “but it’s no excuse. If you’re not playing, it’s hard to come back. But I have to help this team to win games. That’s what is my job.”

Palffy shouldn’t get too discouraged, Coach Andy Murray said.

“Scorers are guys that get reinforcement from scoring, and that hasn’t been there for him as much as he would have liked or we would have liked,” Murray said, “but we thought he played better [Saturday] night. He had some opportunities. I see signs in his game that it’s coming around for him.”

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Three times this season the Kings have played games on consecutive nights, a situation they’ll face 11 more times, the next Nov. 29-30. They’re 0-3 in the second-night games and have been outscored, 12-4.