KINGS NOTEBOOK: FACING AN UPHILL BATTLE.

Byline: Roger Phillips

The first thing Larry Robinson was asked following practice Wednesday was which of his goalies would play tonight, and the Kings' coach said in all likelihood it will be Stephane Fiset.

Unprompted, Robinson then added, ``That's the least of my worries.''

When the Kings (17-28-4) take the ice tonight at the Forum, they'll be facing the Chicago Blackhawks, their fellow travelers in the nether region of the NHL's Western Conference. The Blackhawks played the Mighty Ducks at the Pond on Wednesday night.

The Kings have lost six of their last seven games, including three of four on a trip that ended Monday night in Philadelphia. Amazingly, despite their poor record, a playoff spot remains in reach. But with 33 games left on the schedule, it is reaching the point where the Kings are running out of time to begin their surge into the postseason.

``There's a tendency when you're not getting results and not winning hockey games, it's easy to get in a negative attitude,'' Robinson said. ``The positive side is we had a lot of great chances to score goals (in Philadelphia), but we didn't score. We've got to get some wins.''

Realistically, the Kings are one of eight teams fighting for the last three playoff berths, accompanied in the struggle by the Blackhawks, Nashville, San Jose, the Mighty Ducks, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

The Kings will have ample opportunity to control their fate, with 16 of their remaining games against those teams, including five of the next eight and 11 of the next 19.

Win a majority of those games, and the Kings will be in good shape. Lose a majority of those games, or break even, and it probably will be time to start thinking about next season. But for the Kings to start winning, they must do a better job of limiting turnovers in the offensive zone - a habit that has been costing them defensively.

``What I see is when we're not committed to finishing our checks, bang, the (puck) is in our net,'' Robinson said. ``Or we're getting beat one-on-one, or we're getting caught with three guys behind the net. Things like that are killing us.''

So is an offense that was held to two goals or less on three of the four games on the trip.

``You've got to get ugly goals,'' Robinson said. ``We don't seem to get that many. We're getting traffic in front of the net, but we don't get the second and third shots off rebounds, and those are the shots that go in. We're playing well enough. We should have a few more wins. It gets discouraging.''

Rosy return: Kings defenseman Garry Galley played in his 1,000th NHL game in Monday night's loss in Philadelphia, and after the game, he and his teammates returned to Los Angeles.

When he arrived home, he was greeted by a surprise from his wife, Terri Lynn: an assortment of vases containing 1,000 roses. Galley's children (daughter Shaylynn and son Wyatt) gave their father portraits of themselves wearing Kings sweaters.

``It was really special, something I'll always remember, something I'll cherish,'' Galley said.

Asked if he had another 1,000 games in him, Galley laughed and said, ``Looking back on 15 years, that's how long it took me to get to 1,000, so I'm just going to take them one at a time. I just want to continue to play well and play for as long as I can. When it's over, it's over, so I want to enjoy it.''

Monday's game also was defenseman Rob Blake's 500th in the NHL. Coincidentally, the 35-year-old Galley and the 29-year-old Blake both played college hockey at Bowling Green.

KINGS VS. CHICAGO

Time: 7:35 p.m. at the Forum.

TV/Radio: Fox Sports West; KRLA-AM (1110).

Tickets: About 3,000 remaining (1-888-KINGS-LA).

Matchups: The Kings have lost six of their last seven games, so a game against the Blackhawks might be just what they need. The last time Chicago visited, in November, the Kings had lost six consecutive games and they won 5-0. In December, the Kings had lost three consecutive games when they visited Chicago and they defeated the Blackhawks 4-1. The Kings have won their last six games against Chicago by a combined margin of 24-8.

- Roger Phillips

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BOX: KINGS VS. CHICAGO (see text)