Wayne Simmonds

Kings tonight VS. PHOENIX When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: FS West. Radio: 1150. Records: Kings 24-21-1, Coyotes 23-15-9. Record vs. Coyotes: 0-2. Update: Right wing Wayne Simmonds, who missed the last two games because of an apparent ankle injury, practiced Wednesday and it is possible he will play Thursday. Left wing Ryan Smyth left practice early after being struck on the left calf by a puck, but that's not expected to keep him out of the game.

Upon further review, and the helpful distance of about three months, Kings center Mike Richards considered the wisdom of taking on someone about six inches taller and 35 pounds heavier. That would be a certain Phoenix Coyotes forward named Martin Hanzal. "I don't know what I was thinking," Richards said Thursday, chuckling about their scrap in a fight-filled game between the Kings and Coyotes at Staples Center in February. "Defense. " Survival, perhaps? Anyhow, there will be a rematch … and no rematch.

Center Anze Kopitar is not injured. Nor is illness the reason he has no goals in his past 10 games and two in his last 25. "Everything's good," he said. Except that scoring drought. "No," he said, "that's awful. " Hoping to stir Kopitar out of his doldrums, Coach Terry Murray mixed up his lines again for Saturday's game against the Washington Capitals. Kopitar will center for Michal Handzus and the also-slumping Wayne Simmonds , who has no goals in his last 10 games and one in 18. Rookie Andrei Loktionov moves from left wing to his natural center spot, between Kyle Clifford and Dustin Brown . The reliable Ryan Smyth - Jarret Stoll - Justin Williams line remains intact and the fourth line is likely to again be made up of Alexei Ponikarovsky , Trevor Lewis and Kevin Westgarth . "It's one of those days again with different line combos.

Several playoff berths and positions will be decided as the season winds down. Saturday's league finale, featuring the Kings at San Jose, might determine who wins the Pacific Division and who goes home. The overall point title is being contested by Vancouver, St. Louis and the New York Rangers. The Atlantic, Southeast and Pacific division titles are still undecided. Here's a look at the most crucial games this week: Tuesday Pittsburgh at Boston: The Penguins have a slim chance to pass the Rangers in the Atlantic but are more likely to battle for the No. 4 seeding and home-ice advantage in the first round.

The Ducks joined the rapidly growing list of teams testing the early resolve of the NHL's new discipline czar, Brendan Shanahan . Shanahan, the league's senior vice president of player safety, on Tuesday suspended Ducks winger J.F. Jacques for the remainder of the preseason and five regular-season games as a result of the incident with Canucks forward Mike Duco on Saturday at Vancouver. Though Jacques left the bench on a legal line change late in the third period, it was noted he went straight to Duco to start a fight, making no effort to join the play.

After losing three of four on the road and dropping out of first place in the Pacific Division, the Kings know they have to generate more offense, particularly with the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks up next. To shake things up, Coach Terry Murray changed his top line at practice Friday in El Segundo, moving Wayne Simmonds up from the the third line to play right wing and switching Dustin Brown to left wing. Anze Kopitar will continue to center that line.

The NHL said Friday that the throwing of a banana from the stands during an exhibition hockey game involving a black player was "stupid and ignorant. " The banana was thrown from the crowd in London, Ontario, on Thursday as Philadelphia Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds , who is black, was skating toward the Detroit goal during a shootout. "We have millions of great fans who show tremendous respect for our players and for the game," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.

KINGS TONIGHT AT MINNESOTA When: 5 PDT. Where: Xcel Energy Center. On the air: TV: Versus; Radio: 1150. Records: Kings 5-2-0, Wild 3-3-1. Record vs. Wild (2009-10) : 2-2-0. Update: The Kings had Sunday off after an early morning arrival from Colorado, where they had won for the fourth time in five games. General Manager Dean Lombardi said he had not heard from the NHL regarding a possible suspension for right wing Wayne Simmonds, who was assessed a major penalty for butt-ending and a game misconduct in Saturday's 6-4 victory at Colorado.

It was no surprise Anze Kopitar was the Kings' top preseason goal scorer, with five, and top scorer with eight points. But for winger Wayne Simmonds to share the goal-scoring lead was a revelation to a team that was starved for goals last season. Or was it? "No, I'm not surprised," Coach Terry Murray said Thursday after practice in El Segundo. "I love the way he finished off the year last year. The last 10 games of the season he was arguably one of our top three players on the team and he had a great summer.

Dean Lombardi believes the Kings' time is now, that the distance to their ultimate goal is shorter than the bumpy road they've traveled since he took over an organization that had no depth and no plan to escape the muck of mediocrity. He has assembled assets, built a balanced defense and — miracle of miracles — found legitimate goaltenders. The question now is whether he knows how to tell time. If Lombardi has read this right, acquiring center Mike Richards from the Philadelphia Flyers for the hefty price of top prospect Brayden Schenn, gritty winger Wayne Simmonds and a second-round pick in the 2012 draft will significantly boost a team that took a small but definite step back last season.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers have continued a season-long trend by winning games and losing players. Despite seeing Claude Giroux depart late in the second period with a head injury and goalie Ilya Bryzgalov leave with 13 minutes 1 second left in the game, the Flyers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-2, on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Giroux was hurt late in the second period when he was inadvertently kneed in the head by teammate Wayne Simmonds. "He was in front of me and I tried to jump over him and I don't know where I caught him," Simmonds said.

When: 4 p.m. Where: Wells Fargo Center. On the air: TV: Fox Sports West. Radio: KTLK (1150) Records: Kings 1-1-1; Flyers 3-0-0. Update: Mike Richards, the return. Funny how the lone Kings-Flyers game this season happens to come so quickly as Richards plays against his former team for the first time. The Kings acquired Richards in June in exchange for Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds, and the deal carried more than the usual baggage. Richards was asked about how he was planning to handle the homecoming.

Mike Richards needed time to digest the trade that sent him from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Kings in June. He had grown up a Flyer, was their captain, enjoyed the life of a rich, single athlete in a passionate city that reveres or reviles those who wear its name on their uniforms. "The first day I talked to him after the deal was done he was in a little bit of shock still. So I left it for probably a month and a half," said Kings Coach Terry Murray, a former Flyers assistant.

Acquiring Mike Richards gave the Kings two scoring centers and great credibility. Signing Simon Gagne should remedy their scoring problems, though they might need another scoring winger later. Drew Doughty played only one exhibition game after signing an eight-year, $56-million contract, leaving his fitness in question. If he and the Kings get a good start this team can make noise in the West. Expectations for them are high but justified. Projected lines First line 12, Simon Gagne, left wing 10, Mike Richards, center 23, Dustin Brown, right wing Gagne and Richards played together in Philadelphia.

The Ducks joined the rapidly growing list of teams testing the early resolve of the NHL's new discipline czar, Brendan Shanahan . Shanahan, the league's senior vice president of player safety, on Tuesday suspended Ducks winger J.F. Jacques for the remainder of the preseason and five regular-season games as a result of the incident with Canucks forward Mike Duco on Saturday at Vancouver. Though Jacques left the bench on a legal line change late in the third period, it was noted he went straight to Duco to start a fight, making no effort to join the play.

Dwayne De Rosario, D.C. United's attacking midfielder/striker, quickly condemned the "undoubtedly racist incident," that took place on Thursday night in London. "Come ON!!!" De Rosario wrote on his Facebook page. You might have thought the Canadian-native DeRosario was deploring yet another racially charged action directed at a player on the pitch. But he wasn't talking about soccer. Nor was the London in question the soon-to-be host of the Summer Olympics, located across the pond.

The NHL said Friday that the throwing of a banana from the stands during an exhibition hockey game involving a black player was "stupid and ignorant. " The banana was thrown from the crowd in London, Ontario, on Thursday as Philadelphia Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds , who is black, was skating toward the Detroit goal during a shootout. "We have millions of great fans who show tremendous respect for our players and for the game," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.

Rejected again by a premier free agent, the Kings on Saturday found a respectable solution to their urgent need for scoring from the left side. Soon after learning Brad Richards had spurned them in favor of the New York Rangers, the Kings agreed with left wing Simon Gagne on a two-year, $7-million contract with a salary cap hit of $3.5 million. Gagne, 31, is due $4.5 million next season and $2.5 million in 2012-13, a lopsided division designed to pay most of his money before the NHL's labor deal expires on Sept.