CUP FOR THE KINGS?; FOX'S SIMPSON WONDERS IF THEY ARE READY FOR RUN.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH The Media

Fox's Craig Simpson becomes almost as animated as network cohort Bart Simpson when the topic of conversation turns to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

But you can't accuse him of being a homer for the Kings.

If the 31-year-old Simpson - the real one - wasn't forced to retire a few years ago with a bad back, he'd be getting his rugged game-face ready for the real NHL season with some playoff-bound team.

During his 10-year playing career, the left winger had 68 points in 67 playoff games. He played on two Stanley Cup champion teams with Edmonton ('88 and '90). He led the NHL with 16 goals and 31 points in the '90 playoffs.

The postseason was Simpson's time. Just as much as it hasn't been for the Kings recently.

So as the team fires up the Zamboni for their first playoff appearance since a not-so-fluke trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 1993, Simpson says it's realistic to give the Kings a fighting chance. The fans, however, shouldn't get too far ahead of themselves.

``Do I think they'll win the Stanley Cup? No,'' said Simpson, who has been the game analyst on a half-dozen Fox network Kings games this season (including Saturday's regular-season finale against the Ducks on Channel 11 at noon) and regularly critiques their play as the studio analyst on the Fox Sports Net nightly news.

``But I know the Kings will come in with no pressure or fear, and that's dangerous for everyone else. That's what makes the Stanley Cup so difficult to win. In football or basketball, the two best teams often make it to the title game, but in hockey, there are so many other factors.''

As for the factors that work in the Kings' favor, Simpson spelled it out this way:

The road-team factor: ``They stand a better chance starting a playoff series on the road (as they likely will in the first round against St. Louis). As much as the home ice can be beneficial, this team is the underdog and if they can steal the first or second game, it could send a team like St. Louis reeling. The Blues have four guys who could become free agents - they have to win now. That puts tremendous pressure on them to do something.''

The Larry Robinson factor: ``Larry has done a great job. The team has had time to buy into his system of play - being dedicated at both ends of the ice - and for the first time he has some guys he can lean on to have big games.''

The Luc Robitaille factor: ``They need him (coming off an injury) to score to add to their depth. Luc can also keep everyone at an even keel. The playoff momentum can turn on you in a second. Larry has preached staying not too high or low all season, and Luc can reinforce that.''

The unknown factors: ``Nathan LaFayette's return puts speed back on their team. Ian Laperriere's physical line will be important. I see Craig Johnson scoring a few key goals. Glen Murray can't disappear and the (Yanic) Perreault line needs to come up a notch.''

Simpson, a Woodland Hills resident with his wife and three children, says that as long as the Kings continue to build on the confidence they've found lately that has resulted in things like key short-handed goals, the playoff party shouldn't be a disappointment.

``No question, this is the first step in this `rebuilding process' for them,'' said Simpson. ``No one should just be happy to be there, and Larry won't let them.

``It's been too long for this franchise not to be in the playoffs. Everyone plays 82 games and sweats just as much as everyone else to get there, and when you don't, it's the most empty feeling you can have as a hockey player.

``The greatest thing about winning a Stanley Cup is winning the little battles with your teammates. I still think back to the final game (in the '90 finals) against Boston as the last seconds tick off and me and Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson gave the trainer our gloves so we didn't lose them, and then we just had this great big hug on the bench. We played every other night for the last two months just to do this.''

So maybe the Kings won't experience all that this year. But then again . . .

SOUND BYTES

WHAT SMOKES

ESPN giving Charles Barkley enough rope to strangle himself in stereotypical rhetoric during its half-hour ``Outside The Lines'' special Tuesday before the President Clinton-attended town-hall meeting on sports and race relations. Watching a classroom of kids pin Barkley down on the difference between a racist and nonracist remark was as unintentionally priceless as it was revealing about how much hot air Barkley really does release.

The performance of former USC star Keyshawn ``Just Give Me The Damn Microphone'' Johnson on ESPN's town-hall portion of the show.

The HBO revival of the fighter known as Prince Naseem Hamed, heir to TV-generation, promotion-minded throne. Get past the 20-minute music-video-dance entrance, somersault over the ropes and into the ring and the leopard-print trunks and there's a 24-year-old, 29-0 featherweight with a heavyweight 'tude who the premium cable network wants to package into a regular comet sighting. Wilfredo Vazquez is offered up as the opponent on Hamed's home turf of Manchester, England (Saturday, 9:30 p.m.). Guaranteed: It won't be a boring fight.

The bulk of Fox Sports Net's hour-long ``Goin' Deep'' (Sunday, 9 p.m., Fox Sports West) is a piece on the dangers of aluminum baseball bats that includes the Toluca Lake Pony League's decision to ban them.

AM-1150's Joe McDonnell has former Lakers coach, current Miami coach and infrequent talk radio guest Pat Riley as a guest today on his 3-7 p.m. show.

WHAT CHOKES

An indication about how far (and carried away) ESPN's coverage of the NFL draft has come: During the 17-hour coverage that starts Saturday and oozes over into Sunday, staff humorist Nick Bakay is doing a piece on Mel Kiper Jr.'s 15 years as the network's draft expert. For those other NFL-deficient cities (and we're not complaining) who might have a passing interest, ESPN's new wrinkles to the Kiper-a-thon is a more comprehensive review of the picks at the top of each hour and four more teams (bringing the total to 12) will be equipped with ``war room'' cams. Maybe it would be more efficient to hook monitors into Chris Berman and Hank Goldberg - ESPN's own Teletubbies - and let them video-conference with each other.

The revival of ABC's ``Superstars'' competition, disguised as a 25th anniversary show (Sunday, 2 p.m.). Actually, it's not even an ABC production. It's put together by International Management Group (IMG), the megalomaniacal company that represents pro athletes.

CBS continues to try to catch boredom in a bottle by adding George Seifert to its NFL studio show a week after putting the soft-spoken Marcus Allen on the set. Seifert's tryout tape must have included his karaoke singing spot from the American Express commercial.

AM-1150's Joe McDonnell rattling listeners (and USC's athletic department) by reporting that Mike Garrett has been suspended by the school for drugs. What McDonnell stragetically failed to mention is that it wasn't the USC athletic director in trouble, but a BYU football player. But why leave that important fact out?

By Tom Hoffarth E-mail: sptmediaaol.com

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

Photo: Craig Simpson, far right, is part of Edmonton's 1990 Stanley Cup celebration as teammate Mark Messier hoists the fabled trophy on the Boston Garden ice.

Daily News File Photo

Box: SOUND BYTES (See Text)