Anxious Moments for Jokinen at Start

King forward Olli Jokinen, the third pick overall in last June’s entry draft, had a shaky start but played well enough to earn some praise from team General Manager Dave Taylor in the Kings’ 3-3 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins in Wednesday’s opener.

Jokinen started off playing right wing on a line with center Yanic Perreault and left wing Craig Johnson but was moved around the rest of the game. He did not record a shot on goal and came close to making some costly turnovers, but he made enough plays to impress Taylor.

“When the puck was in our end, [Jokinen] looked a little nervous,” Taylor said. “But, he’s played center most of training camp and [King Coach] Larry [Robinson] has him playing both wing positions now. Considering that he is an 18-year old playing in his first NHL game, he did well.”

Jokinen admitted he was nervous at the start.

“It was my first time ever being nervous before a hockey game,” Jokinen said. “I don’t think that I played that bad. But, I can play better.”

Donald MacLean, the Kings’ other rookie forward, played sparingly in the first two periods and did not get any ice time once the score was tied 3-3.

TONIGHT

* Opponent--Boston Bruins. Site--FleetCenter.

* Time--4:30 p.m.

* TV--KCAL Channel 9.

* Radio--XTRA (690).

* Records--Kings 0-0-1, Bruins 26-47-9 (1996-97 season).

* Record vs. Bruins--1-1 (1996-97 season).

* King update-- It should be interesting to see how former Bruins Jozef Stumpel and Sandy Moger are greeted by Boston fans. Stumpel led the Bruins in scoring last season with 76 points.

* Bruin update-- Boston was one of only two teams with a worse record than the Kings last season, and new Coach Pat Burns has the difficult task of reviving a team that struggled defensively. Raymond Bourque is still a solid defensemen but he doesn’t get much help. Byron Dafoe is expected to start in goal against his former teammates.