Heinze Has an Opinion

At this stage of Steve Heinze’s career, nothing really surprises him.

After starting the season with Manchester of the American Hockey League and then watching several of his teammates get recalled before the Kings called him back up on Nov. 28, Heinze has watched the Kings go 8-12-1-0 over their last 21 games heading into Monday’s game against San Jose.

“When you go through these stretches it’s tough to put your finger on it,” said Heinze, who missed nine games because of post-concussion symptoms last month. “First we were playing with a depleted lineup and now we’re playing with guys just off long injuries.”

One reason the Kings haven’t reached for the panic button yet, despite losing three games in a row and nine of their last 11, is because they know it’s going to take time to jell again as more players return from injuries.

“We have a guy who skates us pretty hard in practice,” Heinze said, referring to Coach Andy Murray. “We practice as hard as anybody in the league but that’s not the same as playing games.

“It takes you a few games to get back in shape.”

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A pretrial hearing in a Boston assault case involving King rookie defenseman Joe Corvo, originally scheduled for last Friday, was continued to Feb. 28.