Lombardi’s Plan Working

from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN, We’re five games into the season, and you start to see what Dean Lombardi was thinking. The Los Angeles Kings GM believed the window was opening for his up-and-coming club this past summer, so he sprinkled in a pair of veterans into the lineup in the hope they would help get the team over the hump. There’s lots of hockey to be played, but defenseman Rob Scuderi, second on the team with 10 blocked shots, and star winger Ryan Smyth have had an immediate impact. Playing on the top line with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams, Smyth has eight points (4-4) in five games. “Kopy, Justin and myself have been working well together,” Smyth told ESPN.com from the New York area, where his team beat the Islanders on Monday and face the Rangers on Wednesday. continued