Ducks and Kings Differ in Approach, Get Similar Results

Mighty Duck left wing Paul Kariya, after declaring he must elevate his play, scores 10 points in his next three games.

“Not many guys could do that,” said teammate Teemu Selanne, one of the few players capable of the same game-breaking, team-carrying feats.

No one on the Kings approaches that status. So on that count, the Ducks would win, 2-0. But the score that mattered Saturday, in this meeting between two teams built on dramatically different philosophies, was 3-3.

And who’s to say which philosophy is better?

In Kariya and Selanne, the Ducks have two of the NHL’s most electrifying players--but the Kings have more depth, a superior record and better playoff position.

Kariya and Selanne are world-class wingers, but they are the Ducks’ only goal scorers in double figures, with 36 and 14, respectively. The Kings have no one whose presence makes goaltenders tremble in fear, but they have seven players in double figures in goals, led by Yanic Perreault’s 20. No other NHL team has more double-figure goal scorers.

“I prefer the way we built our team,” said King goaltender Stephane Fiset, who insisted Kariya and Selanne were menacing him every shift Saturday--and he wasn’t exaggerating much, because frequent and intrusive TV timeouts gave the Ducks ample opportunity to rest their top guns.

“The other side, I don’t want to take anything away from them, but they have maybe one line that for sure will score in every game,” Fiset said. “Their second and third lines will score once in a while and their fourth line doesn’t score much. Right now, we’ve got three or four good lines.”

Selanne also praised the Kings’ depth.

“They play really good as a team and they’re getting a lot of scoring from all their lines,” he said. “I think we should have it too. I don’t know why we don’t have more players to fill out our scoring. . . . [He and Kariya] are used to it, but sometimes it’s really tough knowing we have to score so much.”

No one on the Kings carries so heavy a burden. Which is fine, because none could carry it as successfully as Kariya and Selanne. The Kings’ scoring potential is limited; Jozef Stumpel is averaging a point a game but he can’t change the complexion of a game as swiftly as Kariya and Selanne can, and Luc Robitaille’s best scoring days are behind him. Perreault has faded after a fast start, as has Craig Johnson.

So it becomes a quandary. Do the Kings stay as they are and hope to continue winning with solid defense, outstanding goaltending and balanced scoring--a style that appeals to knowledgeable hockey fans who appreciate its nuances but draws sparse crowds--or do they trade for pizazz, an impact player who will fill the glitzy new arena they plan to occupy by the end of 1999?

Asked if he’d like to have Kariya or Selanne on his team, King Coach Larry Robinson smiled.

“Right now we have Jozef Stumpel and Glen Murray and [Vladimir] Tsyplakov, just to name three, who are playing pretty good hockey,” he said. “The thing is, when you have two superstars like that, they’re capable of winning games on their own. I’d rather come with a lot more ammunition.

“It would be nice to look down our bench and see those two guys, but I’m proud of what I have.”

As he should be. The Kings have progressed immeasurably over the past two years. But Stumpel, Murray and Tsyplakov simply aren’t capable of elevating their games as high as Selanne, who has seven points in his last three games, or Kariya.

Having depth and a superstar would be ideal. Neither the Ducks nor the Kings has managed to acquire both, and each team envies the other.

“We need a marquee guy,” King President Tim Leiweke said. “L.A. is a star-driven town and although we are a winning team and have a team with some depth, we need a guy who’s a star. The Lakers, to their credit, have done a good job with that with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. . . . I’m not talking as much chemistry on the ice as much as marketing and sales.”

King General Manager Dave Taylor must weigh the need to fill seats and justify his owners’ investment against his reluctance to disrupt a comfortable chemistry that has been built slowly and painfully.

“When we’re playing well, we’re getting balanced scoring, but it would still be nice to have one more game-breaker,” he acknowledged. “The problem is what it would cost and whether it would hurt our nucleus.”

It’s easier to find support players than superstars. There are many second- and third-line centers to be had, but few Kariyas and Selannes. In essence, the Kings have made a lot out of a little, and the Ducks this season have made too little out of a lot.