KINGS NOTEBOOK: PALFFY WILL NOT BE ZIGGY-ZAGGING TONIGHT.Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer Ziggy Palffy will not play tonight against the expansion Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers are a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Their home arena is Philips Arena. in hopes his sore lower back improves in time for the Kings' upcoming four-game trip. Palffy, who complained of back spasms after Saturday's 3-3 tie with Tampa Bay Tampa Bay, inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, 25 mi (40 km) long and 7 to 12 mi (11.3–19 km) wide, W Fla., separated from the Gulf by numerous small islands; it receives the Hillsborough River. St. , has been undergoing physical therapy and did not practice with the club the past two days. After facing Atlanta, the Kings travel to Detroit to play the Red Wings red wings see combretum platypetalum. on Friday night at Joe Louis Arena Current arenas in the National Hockey League Western Conference Eastern Conference . Then it is on to Montreal the next day for the Canadiens. ``There is no guarantee he will be ready then, either,'' coach Andy Murray said of Palffy, who leads the club with 26 points. ``You don't want any of your top players to miss any games. But this is a critical road trip and if it takes him missing a game then we have to do it.'' After playing Montreal, the Kings (14-7-6) will have two days off before facing the New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Devils have won the Stanley Cup three times, in 1995, 2000, and 2003. and New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York, U.S.A. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). on back-to-back nights. The Kings do not play Palffy's former team, the New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, a hamlet located on Long Island in Town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. , on the road this season. Changes: With Palffy sidelined, the Kings will be shuffling some of their lines with No. 4 center Jason Blake Jason Blake may refer to:
Murray made Blake center on the Kings top line Nov. 6, when Jozef Stumpel went out with a hernia. But Blake was overwhelmed by the Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). , and the Kings called up Len Barrie Len Barrie (born June 14, 1969 in Kimberley, British Columbia) is a retired professional ice hockey forward who played 184 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Los Angeles Kings. from minor-league Long Beach to take his spot. Blake was used sparingly the next few weeks, but then had goals in each of the Kings road games in Colorado and Dallas and played well with Palffy's linemate Luc Robitaille against Tampa Bay. Murray wants to keep Barrie on the original first line, which will be a potpourri of Robitaille, Vladimir Tsyplakov and Marko Tuomainen. Robitaille and Blake will play with Brad Chartrand or Steve McKenna depending how the Atlanta game develops. ``Jason provides energy and a lift for the team,'' said Murray, who has been disappointed with a series of second-period lulls during the Kings' 2-3-2 stretch. ``Even when he scored those goals against Colorado and Dallas, I reminded him why he is here. He has to be gritty and a real pain for the other team.'' Quick whistles: Kings captain Rob Blake also was held out of the past two practices due to a tender left groin. He is expected to play against Atlanta. If he can't go, expect Jaroslav Modry to play for just the second time this season. KINGS vs. ATLANTA Time: 7:30 p.m., at Staples Center TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net; KRLA-AM (1110) Matchup: The expansion Thrashers open a three-game California series tonight against the Kings. In their last three outings they had victories over Florida and the New York Islanders before dropping Monday's game 4-3 to Nashville in overtime. That gives them five out of a possible six points during that span. Although the Thrashers are 7-16-2 and last in the NHL's weakest division, struggling teams recently have done well on West Coast swings. Montreal won all three games and Tampa Bay had a victory and two ties. The most familiar face on Atlanta is veteran Ray Ferraro, who played three-plus seasons with the Kings and scored 25 goals in L.A. during the 1996-97 season. Ferraro was signed by Atlanta last summer as a free agent. CAPTION(S): box BOX: Kings vs. Atlanta (see text) |
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