Laperriere Is in Fighting Shape

Ian Laperriere has been antsy, with little to curb his adrenaline, which generally doesn’t run but instead gushes.

He has been recovering from off-season knee surgery and has been skating for two months, but was not declared ready for contact until earlier this week.

And he is certainly ready to play tonight against Colorado at Las Vegas in the Kings’ final exhibition game.

For that matter, Laperriere was ready to play Friday in the Kings’ 2-1 exhibition victory at San Jose, but putting him in back-to-back games is asking a lot of his recovery.

“He’s going to be so full of energy, I’m going to have to tell him not to go out and fight everybody,� King Coach Andy Murray said.

He’s right.

“You want to be one of the guys, and you can’t really be one of the guys until you’ve had some contact, until you’ve hit somebody,� said Laperriere, who centered the Kings’ checking line last season.

While he has been out, he has watched the ebb and flow of King players and has set a goal simply to return to the same line this time around.

If he does so, though, it will probably be at right wing, playing alongside center Bob Corkum and left wing Kelly Buchberger.

“That’s OK,� Laperriere said. “I can play winger. I want to play on the third line, so whatever they want me to do is OK.�

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Jason Podollan, who never seemed to fit into the Kings’ plans as an offensive winger, apparently fits into those of Tampa Bay, which chose him Friday in the waiver draft.

Podollan was one of only five players selected on Friday, and his loss means the Kings managed to get goalies Steve Passmore and Marcel Cousineau through the draft unscathed.

Both have had excellent training camps, and Passmore, who will play tonight at Las Vegas, figures to start the season behind Jamie Storr if Stephane Fiset’s sprained left knee is slow to mend.