Scouting Report

Kings 38-33-11 vs. St. Louis 45-29-8

Series Format: Best-of-seven

Today at St. Louis, 4:30 p.m.

* KINGS AT A GLANCE: Should be close to full strength with several players recovered from injuries, including veteran forwards Robitaille and Ray Ferraro. The Kings will have to return to their attacking style that carried them to a 10-1-2 stretch in midseason. For the Kings to slow St. Louis’ potent offense, Fiset needs to step up and show he should be ranked among the league’s best goaltenders, and the team must reduce its defensive lapses.

* KINGS’ NO. 1 LINE: Stumpel (21 goals, 58 assists, 79 points, +17 rating), right wing Murray (29-31--60, +6), left wing Vladimir Tsyplakov (18-34--52, +15).

* KINGS’ TOP DEFENSEMAN: Blake (23-27--50, -3).

* KINGS’ GOALTENDERS: Fiset (26-25-8, 2.71 goals-against average, .909 save percentage), Jamie Storr (9-5-1, 2.22, .929).

* TOP PLAYERS FOR KINGS--Stephane Fiset (goaltender), Rob Blake and Garry Galley (defensemen), Glen Murray and Luc Robitaille (wings) and Jozef Stumpel (center).

* BLUES AT GLANCE: St. Louis won its final three games on the road. The Blues led the NHL with 256 goals and have more than one line to rely on. Geoff Courtnall, the older brother of the Kings’ Russ, led the team with 31 goals and Turgeon had a team-high 46 assists. Hull, who could be a free agent at the end of the season, has become more of a team player but is still the Blues’ go-to scorer. Fuhr struggled with a bruised knee the last month of the season and may not be sharp at the start of the series. However, his backup, McLennan, has defeated the Kings twice since Feb. 28.

BLUES’ NO. 1 LINE: Turgeon (22-46--68, +13), right wing Hull (27-45--72, -1), left wing Pascal Rheaume (6-9--15, +4).

BLUES’ TOP DEFENSEMAN: Pronger (9-27--36, +47).

BLUES’ GOALTENDERS: Fuhr (29-21-6, 2.53, .898), Jamie McLennan (16-8-2, 2.17, .903).

TOP PLAYERS FOR BLUES--Grant Fuhr (goaltender), Chris Pronger and Steve Duchesne (defensemen), Brett Hull and Geoff Courtnall (wings) and Pierre Turgeon (center).

THE MATCHUPS

* OFFENSE: Getting enough shots on goal will be a key for the Kings, who have had problems scoring during several stretches this season. Their top line of Stumpel-Murray-Tsyplakov has to produce because of the inconsistency of the other lines. Getting Robitaille and Ferraro back in the swing of things should help, but forwards Craig Johnson, Steve McKenna and Dan Bylsma need to be offensive threats too. St. Louis gets production from all four lines. The Blues’ line of Courtnall-Pavol Demitra-Jim Campbell has been dangerous for opponents since the Olympic break. St. Louis has four solid defensemen who can score in Duchesne, Pronger, Todd Gill and Al MacInnis.

* DEFENSE: The Kings’ checking line centered by Nathan LaFayette with Russ Courtnall and Bylsma on the wings will play an important role. They must be able to contain the Blues’ top scoring lines plus be able to step up offensively. Center Ian Laperriere’s line also must be able to play strong position defense and provide some offense. The Kings’ top defensive tandem of Blake and Mattias Norstrom cannot afford any breakdowns, the same with Sean O’Donnell and Aki Berg. St. Louis’ defense has been steady, but the Blues gave up 18 goals over their final five games. Led by Pronger, MacInnis and Duchesne, the Blues’ defensemen have done a solid job shutting down the Kings’ offense this season. When the Blues have been too offensive minded, however, their overall team defense has dropped.

* GOALTENDING: Both teams’ backup goalies have better statistics than their starters, but look for Fuhr and Fiset to get most of the playing time. Fuhr’s goals-against average and save percentage are nothing special and Fiset is 2-7 in his last nine starts. Fuhr, who has 381 wins, may have an edge because of his playoff experience.

* SPECIAL TEAMS: The Blues had the 10th-best power play in the NHL, the Kings the 15th-best. But on the road, the Kings had a slightly better scoring percentage than St. Louis, 14.7% to 14.4.

* COACHING: Only four times did the Blues lose three or more consecutive games under Joel Quenneville, a former Colorado assistant. In less than two seasons, Quenneville has a 63-44-15 record. King Coach Larry Robinson is back in the playoffs after a three-year absence. The Hall of Fame defenseman is in his third season with the Kings and has seven Stanley Cup titles to his credit (six playing with Montreal and one as an assistant with New Jersey). This season, he led the Kings to a 20-point turnaround.

* INTANGIBLES: One overlooked aspect of the Blues’ success is the safety their skill players have enjoyed with enforcers Tony Twist and Kelly Chase in the lineup. The Kings also have played better with Matt Johnson and Steve McKenna on the ice, but they do not have as many offensive-minded players to protect.