Coach Follows Players’ Advice

After spending almost six months and more than 60-plus games shuffling his cards, trying to find three of any kind and run an occasional injury-induced bluff, Coach Larry Robinson played a pat hand Saturday night against Vancouver.

His players told him to.

In a Thursday session with Captain Rob Blake and alternates Luc Robitaille, Doug Bodger and Garry Galley, Robinson was told that the Kings should try to make the playoffs with a reward-punishment system. Win a game, the reward is to play again the next game. Lose, and the punishment for a bad game is to sit and watch someone try to play a better one.

“I’m still the coach, and we still have our philosophies and ideas, but they feel that if they’re playing well, they should have the opportunity [to continue playing] and I agree with that,” Robinson said. “That’s fine by me.”

With almost everybody available--wingers Vladimir Tsyplakov and Steve McKenna have been cleared to play after long rehabilitative stints--the Kings can put the team that started the season on the ice.

The Kings are interested in establishing a relationship with a farm team in which they will provide all the players and the coaches to nurture them in a system.

Dave Taylor, the team’s vice president and general manager, said that nothing was in place, but that there had been internal discussions about the project. “If the right situation came along, we would be interested,” he said.

The Kings provide players for the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League and Springfield of the AHL on a shared arrangement that is year to year.

Though he has a better goals-against average, 2.36 per game to Stephane Fiset’s 2.52, Jamie Storr sits and watches while the Kings try to whittle into the rest of the league’s playoff advantage with Fiset in goal.