KINGS NOTEBOOK: SIM FINDS NICHE IN L.A.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO - Jon Sim was happy to be with the Dallas Stars while it lasted. He just couldn't quite find a niche there.

Sim was drafted by the Stars and after shuttling between Dallas and the minors for five seasons - he never played more than 26 games with the Stars in a season - he was traded to Nashville, where he played in just four games. The Kings picked him up off waivers last year.

He has found a steady role on the Kings' fourth line and has posted career numbers. So what's the difference?

``I'm a little older, more consistent,'' Sim said. ``Maybe I got a little more of a chance here with the injuries and everything. That helped me out. My defensive play is a lot better.''

Sim, 26, had dinner with Stars players Brenden Morrow and Marty Turco on Tuesday. Sim said he learned plenty from just watching them and Mike Modano on and off the ice.

``(Morrow and Turco), we pretty much all went everywhere together,'' Sim said. ``Brenden is a great player and a workhorse. Being around those guys always made me a better player and a better person.''

And for the Kings, being around Sim isn't such a bad thing. Sim might not have a name like Ian Laperriere, Luc Robitaille or Jason Allison, but his numbers are impressive. The Kings are 21-9-11-7 when Sim is in the lineup. The left wing isn't the most prolific scorer - he has six goals - but he sure likes that victory statistic.

``He has reminded me of that,'' Kings coach Andy Murray said. ``He's just a nice guy to have around. We talked to the Dallas people (Tuesday) and they liked him on their team, too. Jon Sim is Jon Sim. His thing is to be consistent on a nightly basis. He's probably a little more consistent here than he was in Dallas. He has been more consistent. He can still be (even more) consistent.''

Sim has played in a career-high 48 games and had a career-best 13 points before Wednesday's game. He has fond memories of Dallas, including a Stanley Cup championship in 1999, but he's happy in Los Angeles.

``I loved it there,'' Sim said. ``It was great. It's a winning organization. They demanded the wins. They demanded defense. That was a big thing.

``I'm happy where I ended up, that's for sure. Nashville was more or less a quick cup of coffee and I was swatted me out the door. I was definitely happy with the results and where I ended up.''

--Magic number: Murray still believes 94 points is the magic number to make the playoffs. The Kings have two games against the Stars in a week - they play at Dallas on Wednesday - and can put distance between themselves.

``Obviously, that means we need to do a lot of winning the rest of the way,'' Murray said. ``' No one talks about four-point games.''

--Tiger watch: Murray wrote ``Tiger Woods recovery shift'' on the board before Wednesday's game. So what does golf have to do with hockey?

``It's (Tiger's) ability to make miraculous, tremendous recovery shots because he's just so strong,'' Murray said. ``For us, if you have a bad shift, you have to recover. If you have a poor shift, make sure you bounce back and don't lose momentum. Take it back the next shift. To me, that's what Tiger Woods is all about. He makes mistakes like every other golfer but he recovers so well.''

Woods is in town this week for the Nissan Open, which starts today.

Jill Painter, [phone]

jill.painter(at)dailynews.com