Kings Go On With the Show

Although the Kings are technically in the playoff race, it’s doubtful they’ll be playing after the first week of April, trailing Edmonton by 11 points for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference.

But with just eight games left in the season, that doesn’t mean the Kings don’t have anything to play for.

That was evident Thursday night in the Kings’ 2-2 tie against Tampa Bay before an announced crowd of 17,569 at Staples Center.

Winger Ziggy Palffy scored his 32nd goal of the season and Derek Armstrong added his 11th for the Kings, who have not defeated the Lightning at home since Nov. 6, 1997, when they played at the Great Western Forum.

Vaclav Prospal and Martin St. Louis scored goals and backup goaltender John Grahame made 37 saves for the Lightning, which has a point in seven consecutive games to maintain its lead of one point in the Southeast Division.

With the Kings establishing a franchise record for man-games lost because of injury -- which reached 438 Thursday -- they didn’t have much choice but to go with a younger lineup all season. Including Jason Holland, recalled from Manchester of the American Hockey League on Wednesday, the Kings have played 11 rookies this season. And some of them may end up among the Kings’ top six forwards next season.

Even with a healthy Jason Allison and Adam Deadmarsh to go along with Palffy, the Kings will still need scorers to create a solid second line next season. Alexander Frolov is one player who may fill the void.

After Bryan Smolinski was traded to Ottawa last week, Frolov was moved to the Kings’ No. 1 line with Derek Armstrong and Palffy. It’s a role that he may be counted on to take on next season.

“His game has certainly been better,” Coach Andy Murray said about Frolov, who is sixth among rookies in scoring with 30 points. “He’s competing hard for pucks and he’s moving it quicker.... They’ve worked well together.”

Frolov, who has played in 71 games this season, showed off his passing skills on Armstrong’s goal early in the third period. With the score tied at 1-1, Frolov gathered in a pass from Palffy and in one motion made a blind pass to Armstrong, who scored easily from outside the right post.

Another area of concern for the Kings is goaltending.

Once Felix Potvin was sidelined in February because of a knee injury, Jamie Storr took over as the Kings’ No. 1 goalie.

At times, Storr played well but once he began to struggle, Murray turned to Cristobal Huet, who responded with a shutout victory at Carolina last week.

“Our approach is to win as many games as we can and the goalie that wins will play,” Murray said. “So if you win, you’ll play the next game.”

Because Huet lost against Calgary on Tuesday, Storr got the start on Thursday and finished with 24 saves.

Storr was at his best early with impressive stops on shots by Dave Andreychuk and Vincent Lecavalier in the first period.