The game at Staples Center Thursday night meant something to the visit St. Louis Blues. Win, and they would be in ninth place in the West, one point behind Vancouver and with a game in hand on both Phoenix and Colorado (ninth and tenth, tied with 66 points, going into the evening). Lose, and they’d remain in eleventh.

Neither they nor the Kings showed any urgency in the first period as the teams skated (more like lazed) to a 0-0 tie. Actually, that’s not quite true. The Blues had several good chances early on, and would have been up maybe 2-0 were it not for Dan Cloutier. Making his third NHL appearance this year, he flashed a left leg pad, old-school style, to keep the Blues off the board at 6:37 of the first. During that period, the Blues outshot the Kings 13-5. By game’s end, Cloutier made thirty-two saves and only saw his shutout ruined at 15:58 of the third while St. Louis was on the power play.

“Cloutier?” you ask. Why yes. Jason LaBarbera has a groin injury, and it got to the point of severity, according to Coach Crawford after the game, that he couldn’t go down to make a save. He’s going to take the weekend off (LA plays at home Saturday afternoon, then be looked at in advance of the Kings game on Thursday the 28th in Edmonton. At point (and I’m speculating here), however, the Kings will be on a four-game road trip, so it’s likely that LaBarbera won’t be seen again until early in March.

In his stead, Erik Ersberg is backing up Dan Cloutier after posting a 10-13-2 record in Manchester with a 2.92 GAA and .897 save percentage.

At the other end of the ice, starter Manny Legace gave way to the debut of Chris Beckford-Tseu after the Kings got four goals on ten shots in the second over a span of 6:40. Beckford-Tseu, who hails from Toronto, saw one shot in the second and then eight more in the third. He let the Kings get one goal, the third of a hat trick by Alexander Frolov, at 3:31 of that period.

The usual festivity of throwing hats onto the ice was interrupted because the goal was under review. They never announced why, but the reason was likely that the last contact before Frolov’s (and it wasn’t certain, actually, that he touched the puck before it went over the line) was by Michael Cammalleri with a possible “distinct kicking motion.”

By the time the announcement came that Frolov had his third career ‘trick, play had resumed. Half a dozen or so hats flew down and were picked up by the officials on the ice while play continued. But the announcer did say that hats would be twenty-percent off for the remainder of the night at the TeamLA store.

Frolov, ironically enough, didn’t receive first-star status at the end of the night. That was reserved for Patrick O’Sullivan, who had a goal and four assists for his first NHL five-point night. He ended the game with thirty-eight points (15-23-38) and has appeared in all of the Kings sixty-three games to date.

The Kings had lost to the Blues both times they had played earlier in the year, and had, as was reported here, played a poor game Monday night against Phoenix. However, their play Thursday night reveals several things. First, it’s all about the goaltending. With a strong start by Cloutier backing up a weak start by the team, things turned around with a few bounces in the second period.

Second, a game like this might give fans a glimpse of what the future holds for this team, with the point-getters including O’Sullivan, Kopitar (a goal and an assist), Frolov, Cammalleri (three assists). What’s missing from that list? Dustin Brown, but you can’t expect the guy to score every night (he has a 26-19-45 season going), and scoring by veterans.

Visnovsky and Stuart each had one assist, but there was nothing from any of the older players including Willsie, Handzus, or Thornton. Derek Armstrong went out with a strained knee after playing just :56 in the first period, but the coach said afterwards that it wasn’t considered to be a serious injury. Armstrong walked by in the hallway after the game without a limp. It’s a knee that he wears a brace on, anyway, according to Marc Crawford.

But if the youngsters put on a show, it wasn’t for that that the press box was full. Anyone who doesn’t think that the other clubs in the league are trolling the Kings’ roster for players is just not right. There were thirteen pro scouts in the press box Thursday night, at least seven or eight more than the usual number. A glimpse or two at their notes didn’t reveal anything except that they seemed to be looking at everyone. Common wisdom says that the only player other than Blake, Stuart, and Preissing who might be the focus of a blockbuster deal would be Cammalleri.

Casting aside my objectivity for a second, I leaned over to some scouts and whispered, “The name’s ‘Cloutier’” at the end of the game. “Dan Cloutier, and he plays just like this every night.” They smiled; I smiled. On a night when the home team puts on a show and takes a nice win, it’s easy to do.

Kings notes
Lauri Tukonen’s callup ended after just one game, one in which his coach had said Monday night after the game hadn’t given him the best chance to show himself. With his initial three-year pro contract expiring at the end of the season, look for him to be finding employment with a club other than the Kings or Monarchs for next season.

Jaroslav Modry, who came from Dallas last season for his second tenure with the Kings, was sent to Philly earlier this week for a third-round draft pick. Be careful who you grab in the office playoff pool.

Alexander Frolov revealed in the hallway after the game that he is still having trouble with a sore groin, but that he’s going to play out the year. He will then have surgery, but as he described it, “They don’t know how bad it is until they open it up, you know.”

Kings fans have a new place to discuss their team: LAKings-dropthepuck.blogspot.com, brought to you by old hand Gann Matsuda, who has been covering the team probably as long as almost anyone in town.

Brian Kennedy’s book Growing Up Hockey is available at TeamLA inside Staples Center. Grab a copy and enjoy reliving your hockey past or creating new memories if you’ve just recently become a fan of the game.