No Matter the Math, Wins Needed

By winger Donald Audette’s calculation, the Kings can go 8-4 in their final 12 games and get into the playoffs.

“That means [Calgary and Edmonton] go 5-7,” Audette said of the teams the Kings must overcome to finish eighth in the Western Conference.

Defenseman Garry Galley has it figured this way:

“If they go 6-6, we’ve got to go 9-3 to tie and we win the tiebreaker.”

The first tiebreaker is most victories.

Dave Taylor, the King vice president and general manager, agrees with Galley.

“We have to win nine of our last 12,” he said. “It’s not impossible, but it’s a difficult climb.”

All agree with Audette on one aspect of the next couple of weeks.

“That also means that we have a real important road trip coming up,” he said.

The Kings play Dallas at the Great Western Forum tonight, then embark on a five-game trip that begins and ends at Colorado and between those games goes to Boston, Detroit and Nashville.

Audette has led the Kings since he was acquired from Buffalo in a Dec. 18 trade, scoring 17 goals, but two weeks ago expressed dissatisfaction with the effort put forth by his teammates. That dissatisfaction had been quelled over the last two weeks, in which the Kings have won four of six and closed the playoff gap.

“You look at the last few games,” he said. “We’re getting about 40 shots a game. When you get 40 shots, you’re going to win a lot of hockey games.”

*

Defenseman Dave Babych, acquired in the Steve Duchesne trade with Philadelphia, was in transit when the Kings practiced Wednesday.

He also was plainly unhappy about the deal.

The Flyers attended a motivational seminar that ended at 3 p.m. Eastern time, the trade deadline Tuesday, and Babych left with a sigh of relief. He has five children and there are school concerns.

Then he got the call two hours later that he had been sent to the Kings.

“I’m awfully surprised,” he told Philadelphia reporters. “It’s awfully disappointing, especially finding out at 5 o’clock when the deadline was at 3.”

TONIGHT vs. Dallas, 7:30 Fox Sports West

* Site--Great Western Forum.

* Radio--KRLA (1110).

* Records--Kings 27-38-5, Stars 44-14-12.

* Record vs. Stars--0-4.

* Update--All four of the games between the teams have been decided by one goal, including a 1-0 Dallas win Feb. 28 in which Joe Nieuwendyk scored on the game’s first shot. The Kings are 0-10-6 against Dallas since last beating the Stars on April 6, 1995. Dallas has moved newcomer Benoit Hogue onto a line with Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner, moving Pat Verbeek out. Mike Modano is scheduled to play, even though he was run by Phoenix’s Jeremy Roenick on Tuesday and suffered a gash near his left eye that required seven stitches.

* Tickets--(888) 546-4752.