Bodger Pumped About His Return

He can laugh at the irony now, but it wasn’t too funny at the time.

Doug Bodger had talked about ducking pucks when the Kings warmed up to play at Carolina so he could get through the first shift of his 1,000th NHL game unscathed.

“And then I get hurt in my 1,003rd warmup,” he said Friday.

That was before the game Oct. 30 against Tampa Bay, and Bodger skated one shift that night before realizing how seriously he was hurt.

He will play in his 1,004th tonight against Phoenix, and Bodger is as excited as a rookie.

“That first game, the first shift, I’ll be playing on adrenaline,” said Bodger, who broke his hand when he tripped over a puck while warming up. “It feels great.”

Bodger, in his first season as a King after coming over from New Jersey, had a string of three assists from Games 2-4, and contributed on the power-play and penalty-killing units, as well as on defense. His veteran status was counted on as a settling influence before his injury.

“It’s been hard, watching what has happened to the guys,” he said of a rehabilitation period in which the Kings were 2-8-1. “I kind of feel the way the coaches feel: losing, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Hopefully I’ve kept in good enough condition to contribute.”

TONIGHT

vs. Phoenix, 7:30

Fox Sports West

Site--Great Western Forum.

Radio--KRLA (1110).

Records--Kings 6-12-3, Coyotes 13-2-2.

Record vs. Coyotes--0-1.

Update--Phoenix tied a franchise-record 13-game unbeaten streak (11-0-2) with a 3-2 victory over New Jersey on Thursday. The Coyotes have given up only 26 goals in 17 games, and they have another record in sight: most consecutive games having given up two or fewer goals. Phoenix has done it in 16 consecutive games and the NHL mark is 18.