Switch has benefitted King, Kings

Even if Colin Fraser returns to the Kings’ lineup tomorrow, as expected, the Kings will otherwise stay intact. After the first-round series, the Kings flipped left wingers, as Dustin Penner moved to the second line and Dwight King moved to the third line. The switch has worked so far, as Penner has continued to play well and King has four goals in the Western Conference Finals. Sutter said the move was motivated by matchups, and has perhaps helped King be more comfortable in certain ways.

SUTTER: “When we did it in the last round, it was more of the matchup, with how St. Louis could play those top six guys together. With Penner’s experience, we just thought it was better that he was in there. That was when (Andy) McDonald and (Alexander) Steen were more veteran guys on the same line. We just thought Carter and Penner together would just saw it off a little bit. And take a little pressure off King too, quite honest. I don’t like King against (Shane) Doan either.”

King is a 22-year-old native of Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, a city of approximately 5,000 people in the northwest area of the province. King spent six games with the Kings last season, which he said were of a benefit this season when he and Jordan Nolan got called up in mid-February.

KING: “You learn a lot. In those six games, I kind of got my feet wet and knew what I had to work on. With the year that it took to get back here, I feel I made pretty good strides in my game. When I got here, I was given a pretty good opportunity and I just kind of grew with that. Going into the playoffs, it’s been great.”