KINGS NOTEBOOK: ROUGH GAME DESPITE ENFORCERS' ABSENCE.

Byline: Karen Crouse Staff Writer

The enforcers weren't out in force Monday. Scott Parker and Dave Reid were scratches for Colorado, and Stu Grimson and Kelly Buchberger didn't dress for the Kings.

That didn't keep the Kings and Avalanche from getting physical. Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote had predicted as much, saying before Game 3 of the teams' Western Conference semifinal that one of the keys for Colorado would be initiating contact.

Sure enough, there was as much contact between the two teams in the first period of Game 3 as in heavyweight Hasim Rahman's knockout victory over Lennox Lewis.

Ian Laperriere dumped Colorado goaltender Patrick Roy when he ventured out of his crease to handle the puck, Luc Robitaille shoved Foote a little too zealously (he was called for interference) and ex-King Rob Blake roughed up Scott Thomas (for which he would serve two minutes in the penalty box).

And that was just for starters.

The Kings wear purple jerseys, but they aren't shrinking violets. They were second in the league during the regular season in hits, behind the New York Islanders. In the first two games of this best-of-seven series, the Kings were credited with 100 hits to Colorado's 69.

They have been led by Mattias Norstrom and former Avalanche forward Adam Deadmarsh, with 13 hits apiece.

Like plus-minus figures, the hit totals can be misleading. Kings coach Andy Murray pointed out that in the first game, when the Kings had 54 hits to Colorado's 26, the discrepancy was partly a consequence of the Kings having to chase after the swift-skating Avalanche skaters.

In other words, the Kings were motivated by equal parts desperation and determination to throw their bodies around like wrecking balls.

The hit totals ``tell some of the story in the sense we're playing aggressive and we're laying it on the line,'' Murray said.

--Reid's a hockey player: Baseball players who sit out games with sprained index fingers, take note: Reid skated in pregame warmups two days after having surgery to repair a broken jaw.

``I woke up after surgery and felt great,'' said Reid, who suffered the injury in Game 2 when he was struck in the face by a puck. ``I thought I'd feel a lot worse.''

--Visnovsky returns: Rookie defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky returned to the Kings lineup after sitting out four games with an injured left wrist. He figured to give the Kings an offensive boost; Visnovsky's first three-point game in the NHL came against Colorado on Nov. 18.

``Visnovsky's been a top-three defenseman all year and now that he's 100 percent healthy, I think he can give us (a lift),'' Murray said by way of explaining why he chose to dress a seventh defenseman at the expense of Buchberger, who injured his left foot blocking a shot by Blake in Game 2.

--Sakic injured: Colorado's fabulous forward Joe Sakic, whose breakaway goal iced the Avalanche's 2-0 win in Game 2, left Game 3 with an injured shoulder after logging only three minutes of ice time.

Sakic was hurt when he was sandwiched along the side boards by Jozef Stumpel and Jere Karalahti.

--Oops: A commercial break after the Kings' third-period power-play goal with 10 minutes into the third period that brought them to within one of Colorado forced ESPN to miss an Avalanche goal 33 seconds later.

Play usually is stopped for a commercial after goals, but in this case it was not. After Glenn Murray's goal brought the Kings to within 3-2, fans watching on ESPN's exclusive coverage saw the Staples Center suddenly quiet and the graphic showing a 4-2 deficit.

Broadcaster Gary Thorne immediately informed the audience about the missed goal, saying, ``We screwed up,'' and analyst Bill Clement added an apology during the replay.

--Just to be safe: Not that the Avalanche is superstitious or anything, but the team is staying at a different hotel here than it has the past four trips, all of which ended with a Staples Center loss.

Staff Writer Tom Hoffarth contributed to this story.

KINGS vs. COLORADO

Colorado leads series 2-1

GAME 1

KINGS 4

AVALANCHE 3

GAME 2

AVALANCHE 2

KINGS 0

GAME 3

AVALANCHE 4

KINGS 3

GAME 4

Wednesday at Los Angeles

7 p.m., ESPN2

GAME 5

Friday at Colorado

5 p.m., ESPN2

GAME 6

Sunday at Los Angeles

7:30 p.m. (if necessary)

GAME 7

Wednesday at Colorado

7 p.m. (if necessary)

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

KINGS vs. COLORADO (see text)