The Way They See It, Still Plenty to Play for

When their schedule was released, the Kings’ game against the Sharks on Monday at Staples Center figured to be a battle for the Pacific Division lead. Or, at the very least, an emotional confrontation between teams jockeying for prime playoff positions.

Instead, vultures were circling the carcasses of the 10th-place Kings and 13th-place Sharks, eager to pounce before their bodies grow cold.

The Kings’ scrappy 3-2 victory over the Sharks was an assertion they’re not dead yet, though they’re still six points out of the last West playoff berth. “Not at all,” forward Erik Rasmussen said. “Six points is huge, but yes, we can do it. If we go out and play the way we can play, we’ll be all right.”

Finding themselves now might not be enough. Their upcoming five-game trip, which begins Thursday at Philadelphia, will go a long way toward determining if they’re the predators or will become the prey for playoff-bound teams to pick clean.

Rumors continue to waft westward detailing the Flyers’ affection for defenseman Mathieu Schneider, the Islanders’ appreciation of winger Ziggy Palffy and everyone’s need for a defenseman such as Aaron Miller. The Sharks hear the same kind of talk, that the Maple Leafs like winger Owen Nolan and a half-dozen teams would take defenseman Bryan Marchment off their hands. Facing an 11-point deficit with 23 games left, the Sharks are a loss or two from cashing in.

“That’s how quickly things change from one season to another,” King defenseman Mattias Norstrom said. “For us, it’s not charming.

“Last year, Edmonton and Dallas missed the playoffs, and this year, Dallas has the most points in the [West] and an expansion team, Minnesota, is in the playoffs. We were in the playoffs last year, and now we’re not in the top eight. Rumors circle. It will happen to teams on the outside looking in.”

The Kings still believe they can crash the elite eight, and they’re taking a measured approach. Their situation might seem dire, especially because injured players Jason Allison, Adam Deadmarsh and Felix Potvin remain long-term absentees, but no one is at the point of panic.

“We’re going to play the same whether we’re eight points in the playoffs or eight points out,” said goaltender Jamie Storr, who was poised in the face of a late Shark charge Monday. “For me personally, all that matters is preparing for the next game, and when you do that, you give yourself an opportunity to win. If we win our games we’ll catch someone.”

King Coach Andy Murray believes the Kings will need 90 points to earn a playoff berth, which would take 32 points in their last 23 games. “And that’s a lot of wins the rest of the way,” he acknowledged. “We’re in a no-choice situation.”

He added that club President Tim Leiweke and General Manager Dave Taylor “have told me we’re not moving anybody unless it helps our team. We’re not dumping salaries.... We’re not at the point where we’ve entertained proposals or made any.”

Norstrom, too, said the Kings have a pulse, albeit sometimes faint.

“We’re playing winning hockey,” he said. “Our focus is that when we’ve played 82 games we want to be in the top eight. We’re not doing ourselves any favors if we think about why we’re not. We’re acting and looking at ourselves like we’re a team in the hunt.”

For the moment, they are. But they could be a loss or two away from losing the scent. The question then becomes when do you pull the plug?

Is it better to fight to the end, or to concede the season was doomed by injuries, inconsistent goaltending and unexpected gains by conference rivals? To buck the odds and keep the team intact -- or add to it -- or get something for Miller, Bryan Smolinski and Dmitry Yushkevich rather than risk losing them for nothing as unrestricted free agents?

Buoyed by Monday’s gritty victory, the Kings want to keep on fighting. “Everybody in this room believes we’re not dead,” forward Ian Laperriere said.

But it will take more than belief to make it so.

Blame it on Wayne

A few months ago, before the Kings retired Wayne Gretzky’s jersey, Cliff Fletcher was musing about the impact of the trade that sent Gretzky from Edmonton to the Kings in 1988.

Fletcher was then the general manager of the Calgary Flames, and his first thought was that Gretzky’s departure to a weaker team instantly increased the Flames’ chances to win the Stanley Cup. That proved true the next spring, when the Flames beat the Canadiens in six games for their only championship.

But Fletcher foresaw a more lasting effect of Gretzky’s move to the U.S., and he wishes he hadn’t been right about this one.

“I think it was the dawn of the awakening for the Canadian franchises that north of the border, with our much lower valued dollar, eventually, with the exception maybe of Toronto, all the franchises could be very vulnerable,” said Fletcher, who now works for Gretzky as the Phoenix Coyotes’ senior vice president of hockey operations.

His words come to mind in the wake of reports that the Flames are listening to offers for Jarome Iginla, last season’s scoring champion, and could be willing to deal clutch scorer Chris Drury.

Squeezed by a rocky economy and weak dollar and already on life support from the NHL’s Canadian Assistance Program, the Flames can’t afford the $7.5 million Iginla will earn next season. They’re also afraid to go to salary arbitration with Drury after this season.

General Manager Craig Button will meet with the club’s owners by the end of the month to discuss whether to trade one or both, and the latest rumor has the Flames sending Iginla and goalie Roman Turek to the Rangers for Jamie Lundmark, Dan Blackburn and Radek Dvorak.

If the Flames trade Iginla, Button might as well throw in the franchise’s charter too. It will confirm the obvious: Only teams with big-market bucks are capable of winning the Cup or becoming consistent contenders under the current economic setup. And leave the Ottawa Senators and Minnesota Wild out of the equation. Neither has proved a thing in the playoffs and both will face higher salary demands from players after this season, creating the same inflationary spiral that has crippled the Flames and Oilers.

The Senators and Maple Leafs are among the top teams in the East and the Vancouver Canucks rank second in the West, inspiring fans in Canada to dream the Cup will return north of the border. But the odds are heavily against it.

Montreal was the last Canadian team to win the Cup, in 1993, and the nine-season Cup drought for Canadian teams is the longest since the NHL took control of the trophy in the 1927. The previous longest drought was six seasons, from 1936 to ’41. Not so long ago, Canadian teams dominated the NHL, winning the Cup seven consecutive times from 1984 to ’90 on five Oiler victories and one each by Montreal and Calgary.

No Canadian team has even made it to the Cup finals since 1994, when the Canucks lost to the Rangers. Previously, the longest Canadian dry spell was two seasons without a team appearing in the final.

The Flames can’t compete with the Maple Leafs, Rangers, Red Wings or Stars, and there’s no reason to expect that will change. It’s a sad fact of NHL life, not Commissioner Gary Bettman’s fault or the economy’s fault or greedy owners’ fault but certainly their legacy.

Slap Shots

Atlanta forward Dany Heatley, voted the most valuable player in the All-Star game for his four-goal performance, said management’s decision to replace Coach Curt Fraser with Bob Hartley gave the team instant credibility.

“A team like this, you have to respect a guy like Bob Hartley,” Heatley said. “I think all of the guys listen to what he has to say. He’s won a Cup, obviously. That’s a big thing for him. He has that over us, and we feel that his system is going to work for us, and it has.”

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New York businessman Thomas Golisano is restructuring his bid to buy the Buffalo Sabres and take the bankrupt club off the NHL’s hands. His first bid was rejected by the NHL in November, in favor of a bid by Mark Hamister and Todd Berman, but Hamister and Berman couldn’t get the public funds they needed to close the deal.

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Blues defenseman Chris Pronger, recovering from extensive wrist surgery, said he’s not sure when he will return. He hasn’t gotten clearance to skate.... The Stars’ mettle will be tested in the next week or two while goaltender Marty Turco recovers from a sprained ankle. They’re lucky to have a mature, capable backup in veteran Ron Tugnutt.... The Bruins are hurting for defensemen with Sean O’Donnell (sprained right knee), Hal Gill (broken finger) and Rich Brennan (bruised ankle) out of the lineup.... The Avalanche got good news Monday, when center Joe Sakic (broken ankle) said he expected to return during a four-game homestand that begins Sunday. Colorado is 10-0-1-1 without him and is fifth in the West.