NEW KING ANSWERS TO WARRIOR CODE ONE LOOK AT YUSHKEVICH SHOWS HE'S WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR TEAM.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

Blood filled the right eye of Dmitry Yushkevich, and stitches covered the bridge of his nose like a gruesome version of a nasal strip.

From the looks of him, Yushkevich should have been at a hospital, not Staples Center, but only the Kings' doctors could keep him from lacing up his skates last Wednesday.

``I tried to tell the doctors, `Let me play,' '' Yushkevich said during the first intermission. ``This is very disappointing for me. It's not the way to start with a new team.''

Yushkevich had been acquired the previous afternoon from the Florida Panthers, and the Kings are counting on him to again reach the All-Star level he showed two seasons ago with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Kings can be assured the 31-year-old Yushkevich will bring a physical element to an already-talented defensive unit as they battle toward the playoffs over the next four months.

``We talked to Felix (Potvin) and (Mathieu) Schneider about him,'' said coach Andy Murray, referring to two Kings who played with Yushkevich in Toronto, ``and the two words that kept coming up were `warrior' and `Matty Norstrom.'

``All the reference points have indicated that he's a Mattias Norstrom-type player, and any time you get compared to Mattias Norstrom here in Los Angeles, that's a positive.''

The parallels between Yushkevich and Norstrom, the Kings' respected team captain, are solid, but nobody has come into the Kings' dressing room recently looking the way Yushkevich did last week.

Yushkevich went down to block a shot in the Panthers' Nov. 22 game against Phoenix. The puck hit Yushkevich in the nose, then his cheek, resulting in a nasty gash on his nose, which was broken, and a ruptured blood vessel in his right eye.

The eye looked horrible but didn't cause any vision problems, so Yushkevich left the ice in the second period, received about 35 stitches on his nose and resumed playing in the third period.

``That's the way he plays the game, and it's great to have a guy like that on board,'' Norstrom said. ``He's a real competitor, and he will sacrifice his body for the team. He's the kind of player that any team in this league would want.

``He's hard-working, and he moves the puck well and he can play both special teams. He's a great addition.''

But he wasn't an instant addition. Yushkevich played for the Panthers against the Mighty Ducks two days after the injury, but when he arrived in Los Angeles the day after the trade, the Kings' doctors said it would be wise to rest the eye for a couple of days.

Yushkevich reluctantly sat out, but made his Kings debut Friday against the Mighty Ducks, wearing a full face shield similar to those worn by college players.

He didn't take long to make an impact. In the second period, with the Mighty Ducks on a potential two-on-one rush, Yushkevich once again dove to the ice and broke up a pass with his body, though fortunately not with his face.

``He's a great veteran who is hard to play against,'' Kings forward Bryan Smolinski said. ``He will fit right into our scheme. We will have four solid defensemen who can log the minutes, and hopefully he can help us get some pucks in the net.''

Yushkevich hasn't been known for his offensive prowess, though from 1998-99 to 2000-01 he averaged almost five goals and 22 assists per season.

He was an All-Star with the Maple Leafs in 2000-01, but a blood clot in his leg cost him 27 games last season and prevented him from almost certainly reaching his highest point total since 1993-94, his second season in the NHL.

In 23 games with Florida this season, Yushkevich had one goal and six assists but a troubling minus-12 rating. In his first two games with the Kings, Yushkevich has a plus-2 rating.

Murray's defense-first philosophy should suit Yushkevich well. Yushkevich already feels somewhat at home, since his family lives in Anaheim during the offseason and he co-owns an ice rink in Ontario.

Yushkevich will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, but for now, he's happy to be in his adopted hometown, even if his battered face might scare a few of his Orange County neighbors.

``I'm very excited to be here,'' Yushkevich said. ``I think the Kings are a great team, and in the last few years they've been going in the right direction and acquiring some great players. I think we have a great chance to win.''

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(color) Dmitry Yushkevich was an All-Star with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2000-01 and comes to the Kings from Florida.

Aaron Harris/Associated Press