KINGS NOTEBOOK: TAYLOR WILL GET EXTENSION.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

In 1997, when Dave Taylor took over the hockey operations of the club he played with for 17 seasons, the Kings hadn't been to the playoffs in four seasons and the glitz of the Gretzky days was gone.

Three seasons later, the Kings are off to one of their best starts and they've been near or atop the NHL most of the last month. And Taylor, the club's senior vice president/general manager, is about to ink a three-year contract extension to remain with the Kings. The deal will have an option for a fourth year.

``The only thing left to do is sign it,'' Taylor said. ``I like the direction of the organization and I like working for this ownership and with (Kings president) Tim Leiweke.''

The only thing keeping the deal from being signed Friday or this weekend is Leiweke's duties with the Los Angeles Galaxy of the Major League Soccer. Leiweke left for Foxboro, Mass., Friday to watch the Galaxy play for the MLS championship Sunday.

Of course, that an agreement was reached between Taylor and the Kings isn't stunning. If not for the opening of Staples Center and the hullabaloo that surrounded the Kings moving from the Forum, the two sides would have talked about it long ago.

In his first season as general manager, the Kings reached the playoffs for the first time since 1993, only to get swept by St. Louis in the first round. Taylor fired coach Larry Robinson after a last-place finish in the Pacific Division last season, and hired Andy Murray as coach.

In the offseason, Taylor also orchestrated the trade that brought Ziggy Palffy to Los Angeles from the New York Islanders.

Palffy rests: With Luc Robitaille out, without question more pressure has fallen to Palffy. He's played a bundle of minutes so Murray gave Palffy the day off from practice. It's similar to what Murray's done with Rob Blake.

With Robitaille and Jozef Stumpel not close to returning, the Kings need more scoring from Palffy. The problem is the 27-year-old isn't comfortable flicking shot after shot at the net.

In 21 games this season, Palffy has nine goals on 44 shots. In his career, he scores once every 6.3 shots.

Burning the eyes: Although the Kings are coming off a 3-2 loss to Phoenix and trying to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time this season, Murray expects the Montreal Canadiens to be in a bit more nasty of a mood. The Canadiens are coming off an inexplicable 6-1 loss to second-year Nashville.

``They're going to be real ugly,'' Murray said. ``The Montreal Canadiens losing 6-1. I wouldn't want to read the papers up there. I don't expect it will be a real pretty game.''

KINGS vs. MONTREAL

Time: 5 p.m., Staples Center.

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net (delayed at 7 p.m.); KRLA-AM (1110).

Matchup: The odd start time is to satisfy the country to the north, and it's Hockey Night in Canada, and no doubt there will be plenty of eyes on the Canadiens. They are coming off a brutal 6-1 loss to Nashville. What's more, Montreal is 5-14-1 and its 12 points is 13th in the 15-team Eastern Conference. The Canadiens are 2-8 away from home and their 38 goals are third worst in the league. The Kings are coming off their first loss - a 3-2 decision to Phoenix - in five games and fell out of the Pacific Division lead. A win would be nice heading into a three-game stretch against Colorado, Dallas and San Jose.

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BOX: Kings vs. Montreal (see text)