KINGS REPORT : It’s Not a Stop-Gap Situation

What new King Coach Andy Murray told Ian Laperriere this summer was music to his ears. Be a stopper, Murray said. Stop the other guys’ top line from scoring.

That translates into coveted ice time.

“If I was playing good [in the past], it didn’t mean more ice time,” said Laperriere, who scored an unaccustomed three goals in Team C’s 6-2 win over Team A in an intrasquad scrimmage Thursday.

“I don’t think [former coach] Larry [Robinson] had too much confidence in me.”

Laperriere played with the fourth line last season, averaging about 8-10 minutes a game, and his job was to be physical and offer the Kings a catalyst. Now, it’s to stop the other team’s catalysts.

If he scores, it’s a bonus.

“I like it,” Laperriere said. “This is the challenge I’ve been looking for. To go in and play physical, that’s all right, but it’s a challenge to play the other team’s top line.”

Laperriere has been playing on a line with wingers Craig Johnson and Marko Tuomainen, and they have impressed.

Others bidding for stopper roles include right wing Brad Chartrand, a newcomer, and Jason Podollan, who is in camp without a contract. That keeps him current with teammates for practice time, but the Kings said Thursday they will not allow Podollan to play in an exhibition game without a deal.

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The roster for Saturday night’s exhibition opener at Las Vegas is set, with goalie Stephane Fiset expected to play the entire game against Phoenix.

Playing time for goalies other than Fiset, Jamie Storr and Marcel Cousineau probably is going to be nonexistent in the eight exhibitions.

“We’re looking at a real long road trip to begin the year and we’re really focusing on that,” Murray said. “. . . We think that includes getting those guys as many games as we can.”

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Also on the Las Vegas list are the usual players, including top lines of Luc Robitaille-Jozef Stumpel-Ziggy Palffy and Donald Audette-Bryan Smolinski-Glen Murray. The NHL has told the Kings it should adhere to a league rule requiring at least 10 players, plus goalies, who were in at least 30 games last season to compete in exhibition games.

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Center Jason Blake, who has impressed in the early camp, suffered a twisted knee in Thursday’s scrimmage and is being evaluated. . . . Winger Scott Thomas, an International Hockey League veteran with NHL experience at Buffalo who was signed as a free agent by the Kings, suffered a sprained knee and is listed as week-to-week.