Rookies Getting Chances

The kids are all right ... at least, that’s what Mighty Duck management is banking on.

The Ducks, who lost, 2-1, at San Jose on Saturday, could start the season with four rookies on their roster: forward Stanislav Chistov, forward Alexei Smirnov, defenseman Kurt Sauer and goalie Martin Gerber. Sauer and Gerber are already locks to make the team, with Chistov and Smirnov likely to remain as well.

“We’re ambitious,” General Manager Bryan Murray said. “These are the players who are going to make you better as the season goes on. They’re the ones who can improve the most.”

Sauer, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound defenseman, has been the most impressive. Where Chistov and Smirnov will fit is to be seen. They will not play on the same line, Coach Mike Babcock said.

Chistov scored the Ducks’ only goal in a 4-1 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday. He also took a run at Wild tough guy Matt Johnson, earning a little respect. Smirnov has been a solid player, who could fit on a checking line.

“We want to see these guys play,” Murray said.

The Ducks are not gambling their season on the performance of those two.

“These guys will eventually have to score some goals for us,” Murray said. “But we brought in Adam Oates, Petr Sykora and Freddy Olausson to improve the offense.”

*

The Ducks brought defenseman Josh DeWolf back from minor league Cincinnati for Saturday’s game as insurance in case the injuries to defenseman Pavel Trnka (strained groin) and Vitaly Vishnevski (strained knee) linger.

Chris Foster

*

The MGM Grand sports book lists the Kings as 20-1 shots to win the Stanley Cup this season. But Coach Andy Murray suggests that the odds could grow even longer if the Kings don’t find some offensive support for their top line of Jason Allison, Ziggy Palffy and Adam Deadmarsh.

The trio combined for 80 goals last season, Palffy netting 32, Deadmarsh 29 and Allison 19. Nobody else scored more than 15.

“Some of our secondary offensive guys get in a comfort zone playing pretty good defense,” Murray said Saturday before the Kings closed their exhibition schedule with a 6-5 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in front of a sellout crowd of 11,863 in the MGM Grand Garden at Las Vegas. “But that’s not enough. We can’t survive this year having only two or three guys with more than 19 goals.

“We’ve got to have some guys extend themselves, and the problem when you extend yourself a little bit, there’s a risk because you might not do it. You might fail. And some guys are afraid to go after it.”

*

The Avalanche, which plays the Kings on Oct. 17 at Staples Center, is a 7-2 choice to win the Stanley Cup. The defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings are the favorites at 5-2 and the Mighty Ducks are listed at 75-1.

Jerry Crowe