Turin Games’ Injuries Take a Toll on Roster

The Kings had all their players back from the Winter Olympics, and some were healthy enough to practice Monday.

Among them were Craig Conroy and Lubomir Visnovsky, who worked out during a two-hour practice that included considerable special team work. The Kings, who are seventh in the Western Conference, rank 25th in the NHL on the power play and 29th in penalty killing.

“It’s a 22-game sprint to the end of the season,” Conroy said. “Every game is huge.”

Missing from the ice were Pavol Demitra and Alexander Frolov, both of whom were injured at the Olympics.

Demitra suffered at least a broken nose and had bleeding behind his right eye after being hit by a puck while playing for Slovakia. He will reexamined by a doctor today but is not expected to play Thursday against the Minnesota Wild.

Frolov, who played for Russia, suffered a “partially separated right shoulder” and is “week to week,” Coach Andy Murray said.

For a team that lost 12 of its last 17 games, those are big holes to fill. Demitra leads the team with 22 goals and 57 points. Frolov is tied for second in goals with 19 and is fourth in points with 49.

Still, the Kings tried to keep their eyes on the playoff prize.

Said Conroy: “Pavol is injured, who cares. Fro is out, we can’t look at it right now. Every game is like a playoff game for us. When you break it down, we have three seven-game playoff series left and we have to win four out of seven in each, and even that might not be enough.”

With that sense of urgency, the Kings concentrated much of Monday’s practice on the areas that need the most help -- the power-play and penalty-killing units, which got thinner with the absence of Demitra and Frolov.

“We don’t want to over-complicate things,” Murray said of the power play. “Shoot the puck and get a guy standing in front of the net. Those pretty tic-tac-toe power-play goals are going to happen one in 10 times. You have to get those gritty goals.”

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Conroy, who usually skates on a line with Demitra and Frolov, will now play with 36-year-old Jeremy Roenick and 40-year-old Luc Robitaille.

“I never thought I would even be the ‘young guy’ on a line this season,” said Conroy, who is 34. “That’s 110 years out there skating around. That’s old.”

The three have combined for 1,285 goals in their careers.

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King defenseman Mattias Norstrom was elated with Sweden’s winning the Olympic gold medal Sunday. But, he admitted, “I was a little jealous that I couldn’t be there.”

Norstrom, who played in the last two Olympics, was selected to play for Sweden, but had to miss the Games after suffering a concussion Feb. 7 against the Wild. Sweden’s team officials wanted Norstrom to play so badly they sent him an airline ticket after the tournament began in case he felt up to playing.

Still, Norstrom said, “I’m excited for the team. It’s a great thing for Sweden. It will get more kids interested in playing.”

Norstrom said he would be in the lineup for the Kings Thursday.

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Forward Jeff Giuliano was recalled from Manchester, the Kings’ American Hockey League team.