TRYING TO PUT A CHARGE IN HOCKEY KINGS ARE PROOF NHL NEEDS WAYS TO PUNCH UP GAME.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is putting together a panel to examine ways to add scoring to his often punchless sport.

He must have watched Tuesday's 0-0 tie between the Kings and Nashville Predators. Or any one of the nine ties the Kings have had during their 13- game winless streak.

While hockey's biggest debate rages over whether there will be a labor lockout in September, conversations in the league's board rooms and dressing rooms continually focus on attempts to boost scoring - and excitement - in the NHL.

Bigger nets, smaller goalie pads. Adding more ice, eliminating the red line. Shootouts. All suggestions that might help, but in many ways they would go against the league's time-honored traditions.

``It would be exciting for the fans but not for us,'' forward Eric Belanger said of the shootout idea after the Kings' 2-2 draw with Minnesota on Wednesday. ``Ending a game on a shootout isn't fair. One shots makes all the difference? I'd rather have a tie. It's like all the hard work means nothing. We played well enough to win (Wednesday), but if there is a shootout and we lose, that's not good. At least we got a point and left on a positive note.''

Belanger is just 26, but he is old-school. So are most players.

But the idea of a shootout is tantalizing. The notion about one shot to decide the game has followed around the Kings during their slump. With Ziggy Palffy and Martin Straka gone to injuries, no one is sure just who would participate, but at this stage of the season the Kings need points in a hurry.

Everyone knows they aren't getting closer to reaching the playoffs. A tie gives them one point. A victory gives them two. With 38 games remaining, the Kings (16-14-10-4) have to win 24 games to reach the consensus of 94 points it will take to reach the postseason.

And they aren't alone. The Wild, which went to the Western Conference finals last year, have one victory in its past 11 games. It also has seven ties.

Pretty dull.

There was no denying last year's All-Star Game, played in Sunrise, Fla., and decided by a shootout, was one of the most exciting ever. The West won 6-5 when former Mighty Ducks winger Paul Kariya scored and Florida's Olli Jokinen did not.

The NHL often caters to two masters: fans and television. While football is considered better watched on television rather than live, the opposite is true in hockey.

As a result, much of the NHL's revenue is based on ticket sales. But the big money is in TV. The league's five-year, $600 million contract with ABC/ESPN expires at the end of the season.

The network is negotiating an extension for less money but was encouraged when last weekend's season-opening package drew 2.1 million viewers. That is the highest figure for an opening weekend since 1998.

TV saw the buzz created by last year's All-Star shootout. But it is letting the NHL decide the future.

Jim Fox has a unique perspective. He played with the Kings for 10 years and now is color analyst on their broadcasts.

He understands Belanger's thinking but also knows the value of a more entertaining product.

``We have to give the fans more,'' Fox said. ``I know people say it takes away from the team. But I like the idea of a skilled player against a skilled goaltender to decide the game. When it happens, that is the last thing the fans will remember about the game. And probably the best thing, too.''

For many years, the International Hockey League, which included the Long Beach Ice Dogs, used the shootout to decide games. Fans loved it but it didn't save the league, which disbanded three years ago.

``The biggest plus is the fans enjoyed it,'' said Kings assistant John Van Boxmeer, who coached the Ice Dogs. ``I remember one year we were playing an exhibition that ended in a 2-2 tie. The league had said there would be no shootouts in preseason. When they announced that, the crowd really booed.

``It definitely would work at the NHL level. Ziggy Palffy against Dominik Hasek to decide a game? That's good stuff.''

Kings general manager Dave Taylor has been to several meetings on rules changes. He doesn't see much support for shootouts but said one idea making the rounds these days is widening the rink to increase the size of the neutral zone.

In in the last half of the 1990s the neutral-zone trap, a clogging of the middle section of the ice by defenses, clearly has slowed down the game.

Four times in the 1980s the Edmonton Oilers scored more than 400 goals, including a record 446 in 1983-84. This season, the top-scoring team barely will reach 300. The Carolina Hurricanes, the NHL's weakest-scoring team, is on pace to reach 150 goals, the lowest figure since the mid-1950s.

Taylor knows his team isn't going to get it done this year collecting points with ties alone. But he also doesn't see the need for much tinkering.

When he watched the Kings tie Minnesota on Wednesday, Taylor didn't see a boring game.

``I saw a team that played the night before in Nashville come out strong and take it to the other team all night,'' he said. ``We had 46 shots on their goaltender. That wasn't just a tie game, it was an exciting game.''

Matt McHale, [phone]

matt.mchale(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

box, chart

Box:

KINGS at COLUMBUS

- Matt McHale

Chart:

SCORING DECLINE