Smyth Paying the Price, Sparking Kings to Strong Start

When the Los Angeles Kings decided to acquire Ryan Smyth from the Colorado Avalanche last summer, they were intrigued more by his style than his stats.

During his lengthy NHL career, Smyth earned a reputation for driving to the net like he was a Humvee crashing through a roadblock.

"He plays the game the way the game is supposed to be played," Kings coach Terry Murray said. "You've got to pay a price to score some goals. He gets to those areas all the time where you will have to take a pounding."

The Kings wanted Smyth to add a layer of pugnacity to their roster, and in the team's first 12 games Smyth has achieved that. He's ninth in the NHL in scoring with six goals and nine assists in 12 games, and his passion isn't lost on his teammates.

"He's one of our go-to guys and he plays a dirty game," Kings captain Dustin Brown said. "That rubs on a lot of other players."

Murray said he pondered many line combinations for Smyth but he always came back to playing him with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. When Williams was recently injured, Wayne Simmonds joined the line.

With Smyth on his wing, Kopitar leads the NHL in scoring.

"You see Kopi mucking it up in the corners a little bit," Brown said. "Everyone has been feeding off (Smyth) and that was expected."

Smyth is called Captain Canada because of the number of times he has played in international competition and because of the passion he brings to the rink.

Murray said he talked to Smyth about his role and told him, "Don't look to do anything special. We aren't trying to put the franchise on your shoulders.

"I wanted him to be himself," Murray said.

Smyth said he was excited to be surrounded by the Kings' young talent. The only strange aspect about the move, in his mind, is the great weather.

"All my previous teams, Edmonton, the New York Islanders and Colorado had snow in the winter," Smyth said. "This is going to be different."