Kings Hope to Find Success

The Kings have not had much success against the St. Louis Blues lately.

Since the start of the 2002-03 season, Coach Andy Murray’s team is 1-5-0-1, 0-3 this season.

That only adds to the drama of tonight’s game at Staples Center.

The Kings are tied for seventh place with Nashville in the Western Conference playoff race with 79 points. The Blues are one point behind in ninth.

A victory over St. Louis would give the Kings a three-point cushion on the Blues.

A loss to St. Louis at home would certainly make things difficult for the Kings, with only 10 games left.

“Right now, we’re playing for our lives,” King defenseman Jaroslav Modry said. “Every game is like our last game, where we’re playing with a playoff-mentality.

“You have to give everything you have to make sure that you’re there for your teammates.

“We can’t afford to throw any points. Every shift is so important to us. You can’t lay back and say somebody else will take care of it. It’s all of us.”

Since the All-Star break, the Kings have had a playoff mind-set but after losing at San Jose and defeating the Mighty Ducks over the weekend, the intensity level seemed heightened at the team’s HealthSouth training facility in El Segundo on Monday.

There weren’t many smiles from the Kings’ power-play unit after watching tape of the one-for-nine effort against the Ducks on Sunday.

The Kings, 27th in the league with a man advantage, hope to perform better against St. Louis tonight, mainly because their new power-play lineup, which has recently added Lubomir Visnovsky, Martin Straka and Anson Carter, has one more game together.

“This is really a different [power-play unit] now because so many regulars have been out of the lineup,” said Carter, who scored his first point as a King in Sunday’s 5-1 victory over the Ducks.

“A lot of times, PP is based on just knowing guys’ tendencies and reading and reacting as opposed to just thinking the game. When ... personnel is changing constantly, then you’re not quite sure with each other on the ice.”

Luc Robitaille, the Kings’ leading scorer, has seen more than his share of power-play roller coaster rides.

He has seen units rip through the regular season, then get cold in the playoffs. According to Robitaille, quicker and more agile defensemen have helped cut down the effectiveness of power-play units.

“If there’s a loose puck, [today’s defensemen] are on it so fast,” Robitaille said. “Sometimes, you wonder who’s really on the power play. That’s how quick they are now.”