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Top-flight rookies on display when Kings face Blues

Oct 6, 2007 - 1:55 PM St Louis (0-1-0) at Los Angeles (1-1-0) 10:30 pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - The Los Angeles Kings should be well rested when they take on the St. Louis Blues on Saturday in their first game on American soil.

The Kings opened the NHL season, splitting two games with the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks in London last weekend. Unlike the Ducks, who have played two games on the road, Los Angeles had a six-day layoff before playing its next game.

Two rookies with the same last name, though unrelated, will face off during the game.

Kings defenseman Jack Johnson, who was the third overall pick in the 2005 draft, has already gotten significant ice time this season, playing just over 40 minutes on 48 shifts during his team's first two games.

The Blues' Erik Johnson, who is also a defenseman, picked up the first point of his NHL career on Thursday in his debut, assisting on a goal by Keith Tkachuk.

While these rookies maybe the most talented on the ice, Kings' coach Andy Murray will have his eye on another first-year player. Murray's son, Andy, will take the ice for the Blues, as the two become the first father-son duo since Dallas Stars coach Rick Wilson faced his son Landon of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2002.

The Blues have a strong chance at notching their first win against the Kings as long as Manny Legace is in goal. Legace is 9-1-0 with a tie in 12 career games against the Kings, posting a 2.57 goals-against average.