Kevin Stevens

Left wing Kevin Stevens of the Pittsburgh Penguins will be sidelined for three to four weeks after arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee.

Pittsburgh winger Kevin Stevens did not rejoin the Penguins for practice Friday, one day after leaving the team before a game in Buffalo. " ... He got on a flight [Thursday] night at 6:50 on his way back to talk to his wife about his future," Penguin General Manager Craig Patrick said. Attempts to reach Stevens were unsuccessful. * Mario Lemieux, who has missed Pittsburgh's last 24 games because of a hip injury, will return to the lineup today. ...

I now know the real reason that Wayne Gretzky is considering leaving the Kings: He doesn't want to wear that hideous third jersey. HOWARD COHEN North Hills Kevin Stevens for Rich Tocchet. I wonder if Boston General Manager Harry Sinden has stopped laughing yet. CHRIS DEMOS Los Angeles As a King fan since their inception, I have absolutely no questions about the trade of Rick Tocchet for Kevin Stevens. For your paper to make an issue of Mr. Stevens' back problems only shows that you know much less about the Kings than those of us who realize that his difficulty in bending over to pick things up will be more than offset by the King management's historic willingness to bend over anything.

For the second time since taking over as King general manager in April, Dave Taylor acquired a former teammate Thursday, hoping to relieve the team's scoring problems. Taylor completed a long-rumored deal, sending Kevin Stevens to the New York Rangers for Luc Robitaille, who played with Taylor and the Kings from 1986 to 1994.

Left wing Kevin Stevens continued his scoring streak Saturday night against St. Louis with his third goal in three games. Stevens' first-period score also gave him seven points in nine games. Stevens' goal also was the Kings' third power-play goal in five games. * Forward Yanic Perreault returned to the lineup after sitting out 12 games because of a stomach injury.

Despite extending his consecutive games scoring streak to five games with an assist in the Kings' 3-2 victory at Toronto on Wednesday night, King left wing Kevin Stevens is looking forward to the time off for this weekend's all-star break. That's because he and his wife, Suzanne, are expecting their first child next month. "I'll just sit home and relax because she's 8 1/2 months pregnant," Stevens said.

For King left wing Kevin Stevens, who had a brief and unhappy stay with the Boston Bruins before being traded to the Kings last January, today's game at the FleetCenter represents a return to the scene of the crime. Stevens, who is from nearby Brockton, Mass., was traded to the Bruins by the Pittsburgh Penguins before last season but never got on track in his hometown.

The Los Angeles media have finally caught up to the New York media in cruelty and fickleness. I can't believe some of the things that were said regarding Kevin Stevens' return to the Kings' organization. What a way to welcome a player to our town. Stevens is going to be great. Although Rick Tocchet will be missed, we are going to see some improvement in the Kings. Stevens definitely is a proven winner and clutch performer, and he plays left wing, which is what the Kings need. Playing alongside Wayne Gretzky will make him a 50-goal scorer again.

Pittsburgh winger Kevin Stevens did not rejoin the Penguins for practice Friday, one day after leaving the team before a game in Buffalo. " ... He got on a flight [Thursday] night at 6:50 on his way back to talk to his wife about his future," Penguin General Manager Craig Patrick said. Attempts to reach Stevens were unsuccessful. * Mario Lemieux, who has missed Pittsburgh's last 24 games because of a hip injury, will return to the lineup today. ...

King General Manager Dave Taylor said Wednesday the team has talked to the New York Rangers about trading Kevin Stevens for former King Luc Robitaille, but it is far from a done deal despite a recent report by the New York Daily News. "We've had discussions about a [Stevens-for-Robitaille] trade going back for a while," said Taylor, who played with Robitaille with the Kings from 1986-94. "But I wouldn't say it's close. We haven't talked over the last few weeks."

Despite extending his consecutive games scoring streak to five games with an assist in the Kings' 3-2 victory at Toronto on Wednesday night, King left wing Kevin Stevens is looking forward to the time off for this weekend's all-star break. That's because he and his wife, Suzanne, are expecting their first child next month. "I'll just sit home and relax because she's 8 1/2 months pregnant," Stevens said.

Left wing Kevin Stevens continued his scoring streak Saturday night against St. Louis with his third goal in three games. Stevens' first-period score also gave him seven points in nine games. Stevens' goal also was the Kings' third power-play goal in five games. * Forward Yanic Perreault returned to the lineup after sitting out 12 games because of a stomach injury.

For the first time this season King left wing Kevin Stevens has scored goals in consecutive games. Stevens, who scored in the Kings' 6-2 victory against Vancouver on Tuesday, scored his sixth goal of the season in the first period Thursday night against Buffalo. . . . Ian Laperriere, who has been a center on the Kings' checking line for most of the season, played right wing for the second consecutive game and set up Stevens' goal with a great individual effort and assist.

For King left wing Kevin Stevens, who had a brief and unhappy stay with the Boston Bruins before being traded to the Kings last January, today's game at the FleetCenter represents a return to the scene of the crime. Stevens, who is from nearby Brockton, Mass., was traded to the Bruins by the Pittsburgh Penguins before last season but never got on track in his hometown.

No news was good news for Kevin Stevens, who spent most of Saturday wondering if he would be suspended after the NHL reviewed his blindside punch of Ottawa's Lance Pitlick Wednesday. After hearing nothing from the league, Stevens correctly assumed he would not be suspended. An NHL official told the Kings that Brian Burke, senior vice president, had looked at the tape and saw no reason to impose a suspension. Stevens may still be fined. Stevens couldn't understand the suspense.

No news was good news for Kevin Stevens, who spent most of Saturday wondering if he would be suspended after the NHL reviewed his blindside punch of Ottawa's Lance Pitlick Wednesday. After hearing nothing from the league, Stevens correctly assumed he would not be suspended. An NHL official told the Kings that Brian Burke, senior vice president, had looked at the tape and saw no reason to impose a suspension. Stevens may still be fined. Stevens couldn't understand the suspense.

As of late Friday, left wing Kevin Stevens still faced a possible fine or suspension by the NHL for his blind-side punch to the right eye of Ottawa defenseman Lance Pitlick on Wednesday. A league spokesman said Brian Burke, NHL senior vice president, did not complete his review Friday because he did not have a comprehensive tape. The spokesman did not rule out future action by Burke. In most cases, Burke acts swiftly, usually before the player's next game.

Left wing Kevin Stevens was sleepless after Tuesday's game against Philadelphia--his neck braced to prevent further injury, along with a swollen lip, stitches inside and outside his mouth, and a blistering headache. And Stevens was lucky. His face was on the wrong end of a cheap shot, an elbow from Flyer left wing Daniel Lacroix in the second period. The Kings sent a tape to the NHL, and the league on Wednesday suspended Lacroix pending review.