Oh boy!! As a season-ticket holder, I recveived an e-mail from the Los Angeles Kings informing me that my set of tickets for the coming season will be delivered this week!!

What do non-hockey fans do during hockey season? wink

~Adam

Answer: think about the upcoming season!!!!!! wink

Camp has opened and..... my season tickets arrived!!!!!!!! I try never to think of how much money I've spent on season tickets over the years.

~Adam

The Kings who admit to having Sean Avery on what coach Marc Crawford half-jokingly calls "double-secret probation," have come up with an interesting ounce of prevention to try to keep him out of trouble. His locker will be between Captain Mattias Norstrom and returning prodigal son Rob Blake. Today Blake said that Avery would never be allowed to talk to the press without "Matty or me there to step in if anything's about to boil over. On the ice, Sean's OK but off it is a minefield for him. We'll watch him."

~Adam

Have they also hired a babysitter?

Possibly, but I wonder what the over/under is on how soon before Avery hauls off and pops Norstom or--more likely--Blake.

In other LA Kings news, it's likely that we've entered the final week of service of either Mathieu Garon or Jason LaBarbara. According to reports, neither was all that impressive in scrimmages during training camp and the exhibition games--starting tonight against the Ducks im Anaheim--will determine which one stays with the team to be the number 2 netminder behind Cloutier.

~Adam

7:30 tonight I'll be watching my Kings skate against the Sharks. My first exhibition game of the season-----life is good again.

~Adam

Have fun buddy, and yell for me please!

This was weird: the prodigal defender, Rob Blake, got a standing ovation during the skatearound (sheepishly I have to admit, I joined in) and again when he scored the Kings' sole goal with about 5 minutes left in the final period, so I guess this whole season will turn into something of a lovefest for him; even when he was with the Avs, Blake goit huge ovations at Staples Center and remained involved with local charities, so it's somewhat understandable. As to the game against the Sharks, which the Kings lost 3-1, Dan Cloutier looked sharp in net, getting stronger as the game progressed. Solid skating by both teams and it seemed that Marc Crawford will be going with speed on the first two lines and massive size and lines three & four. Don't know if this means anything about which goalie will be number two to Cloutier but Jason LaBarbara wasn't on the bench with the team while Mathieu Garon was--official word was that LaBarbara had a touch of a stomach bug.

It's good to have hockey back.

~Adam

The prodigal defender, Rob Blake, was on sportstalk yesterday, saying all the right things but had this funny comment about the upcoming exhibition game against the Avs, taking place in Las Vegas: "It's weird playing hockey in Vegas. Most people there see the ice rink and figure they're at 'Nudes on Ice.' A hockey game could be a disappointment to them."

There is an obvious solution to that confusion--and it's been suggested on this site numerous times!

~Adam

It will be interesting to see how many fans they draw. Vegas has been mentioned before about possible future locations for a franchise, but first I would imagine, they need a new state of the art, rink! The Thomas and Mack Center doesn't cut it.

The Carolina Hurricanes have traded the rights to defenceman Jack Johnson and defenceman Oleg Tverdovsky to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for defenceman Tim Gleason and centre Eric Belanger.

The LA Kings have won the lottery...a steal of a deal for them. I have no idea what the Carolina Hurricanes are thinking by making this deal. Yes, Jack Johnson won't play this year as he's back in college...but really, this is a perfect deal for the Kings.

Seems like a good deal for both clubs really. Johnson showed no interest in signing with Carolina (last year or this year) and they needed to get out from under that contract for a 7th defenseman who isn't going to play very much in Carolina. Salary is pretty much a wash, but they get a center and D that will play this year.

For the Kings, they pick up an offensive D man and a top defensive prospect. Plus it opens up a spot for one of the kids to play with the big club this year too.

It seems like a fair trade for both clubs, unless Johnson comes to town and becomes the next superstar on D. Oleg isn't the most defensive of D men out there, but he can play and score some goals.

Has anybody seen or heard from Adam at all lately???. He seems to be among the missing.... and hasn't posted in some time. Maybe he is on vacation???

My thought was that he hasn't posted due to some combination of vacation and the Jewish holidays. Hope he'll be back soon, especially with hockey season in full swing.

FINAL SCORE: DALLAS 4, LOS ANGELES 1

LOS ANGELES (AP) -Brenden Morrow scored twice on power plays and Stephane Robidas had three assists, leading the Dallas Stars to a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

The Stars' 4-0 start is the second-best in the franchise's 40-year history. They won their first six games in 1996-97, when they began a string of five consecutive division titles. Mike Ribeiro had a goal and two assists for the defending Pacific Division champions, who also got a goal from Jere Lehtinen.

Marty Turco, who has backstopped all four victories, made 24 saves and has allowed only two goals in his last 153 minutes of ice time. The two-time All-Star's bid for his 25th career shutout was spoiled when Michael Cammalleri scored on a power play with 2:43 to play.

The Stars, who beat the Kings 4-1 Thursday night at Staples Center in the opener of their season series, were 2-6 against them last season - but finished with 23 more points than Los Angeles in the Western Conference standings as the Kings failed to make the playoffs.

Mike Modano and Robidas both hit goalposts less than 2 minutes apart in the first period before Dallas took a 2-0 lead on power-play goals by Ribeiro and Morrow against Mathieu Garon in a 78-second span - both of which came on deflections of slap slots by Robidas.

Jeff Cowan was off for goaltender interference when Robidas' one-timer from the top of the left circle banked in off Ribeiro at 13:44. Alexander Frolov was serving a hooking penalty when Robidas' one-timer from the high slot changed direction off Morrow's stick while his back was to the net.

Lehtinen, a three-time winner of the Frank Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward, scored his first goal of the season at 12:18 of the second period for a 3-0 lead. Last season he led Dallas with a career-high 33 goals.

Just 56 seconds later, Morrow converted a rebound at the edge of the crease while Kevin Dallman was in the box for hooking. The goal was Morrow's fourth in three games.

Notes: Last year, the Kings' marketing slogan was "Kings Rule!" This year it's "Play Hard!" After they got behind 4-0, the crowd of 17,052 began a derisive chant of: "Let's play har-der! Let's play har-der!" ... Los Angeles was 1-for-16 on the power play in the back-to-back games against Dallas. ... Garon made 24 saves in his second start. Last season he had 31 wins, tying Felix Potvin (2001-02) for the third highest total in franchise history behind Mario Lessard's 35 in 1980-81 and Rogie Vachon's 33 in 1976-77

PLAY HARDER THEY DID THE SAME DARN THING THURSDAY NITE IT WAS NOT GOOD HOCKEY GAME IT MUST KILLED U BEING THERE ADAM WAY TOO MUCH DUMP AND CHASE

Hope to be hearing from Adam again, SOON! Your missed bud.

WHILE U WERE AWAY ADAM
THE KINGS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE
EXCEPT THURS NITE THE PULLED IT
TOGETHER AND DEFEATED PHOENIX
AT THE GLENDALE ARENA
SO WE KNOW WE CAN BEAT ONE TEAM AND
END THE 4 GM LOSING STREAK
OH ADAM COME BACK SOON

THE KINGS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH 6-1 LOST TO AVS THEY HAD NOT ONE BUT 3 2 MAN POWERPLAYS AND CLOUTIER WAS PULLED IN 3RD AND THE BOUGHT GARON WHO LOST THE SHOOT OUT GAME AND THE THEY SCORED FIRST IN THE THAT GAME TO BUT CALLEMERIA GOT HIGH STICK IT DREW BLOOD 4 MN POWER PLAY AND THE SOPEL GOT CAUGHT FOR HOLDING ANOTHER 2 MAN ADVANTAGE AND THEY WERE DOWN 3-1 AND NEVER GOT BACK ON THE TRACK AND HAD NO POWER PLAY GOALS AND SO WILL PLAY THE WILD ON WED AT THE EXCEL CENTER.

Miss hearing from Adam. Its been awhile since he has posted. I am a bit concerned because its been some time since he has been heard here. Wondering if anybody knows anything?????

No idea. I sent an e-mail but no reply. Posters here tend to disappear at times for various reasons...

LA KINGS UPDATE
THEY ARE LOSING 3-0 TO THE WILD AND R 0-6 FOR THE POWER PLAY
AND FERNANDEZ IS SHUTTIN THEM OUT HAS ANYONE HEARD FROM ADAM HIS
TEAM COULD REALLY USE HIM NOW AND HE GETS TO SEE THEM LIVE I AM LISTENING TO THEM NHL LIVE ON www.nhl.com
THE ANNOUCERS JUST SAID LA IS NOT SKATING AGGRESSIVELY AND THERE IS NOT ENOUGH MOVEMENT AND NO DISTRACTION TO SET UP SCORING PLAYS AND GO TO THE NET AND THATS HOW ITS BEEN SINCE THE LOST 2-0 LEAD TO ANAHEIM AND LOST THAT GAME 3-2 IN THE SHOOT OUT.
I AM WRITING THIS THERES IS HOCKEY FITE GOING ON BETWEEN EVIANS AND ROUGERT AND THIS WITH AND THIS BEFORE 2 MORE PENALTIES AND ANOTHER MN POWER PLAY AND THE WILD IS GOING TO WIN ITS 6TH GAME IN A ROW AT HOME. AND LA WILL LOSE 6 OF LAST 7
954 LEFT TO GO LA BETTER GET GOING I CAN JUST SEE ADAM WATCHING THIS ON NHL CENTER ICE AND SCREAMING LETS GO KINGS LA HAS SCORED 22 LAST 11 WILSEY WITH HELP FROLOV KOPOTAR JUST SCORED AND STOP SHUT OUT STREAK AGAINST US WELL ITS BETTER THAN GETTING SHUT OUT THE ANNOUCERS SAY THEY PLAYING ANGRY LIKE THE SEASON IS ON THE LINE WITH 421 LEFT TO GO LETS SEE
IF THEY CAN GET 2 MORE GOALS OR AT LEAST ONE MORE I HAVE TO ADMIT THE KINGS ARE SKATING WITH MORE FIRE, 210 LEFT THE PULL CLOUTIER AS KOPATAR TRIED TO GET A GOAL 133 LEFT T/O BY THE LA COACH CRAWFORD THIS GAME IS OVER END WITH LA POWER PLAY AND COLUMBUS IS NEXT FRI THERE. AGAIN HURRY BACK ADAM THE HORN HAS SOUNDED 3-1 WILD

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 0, COLUMBUS 2
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -Pascal Leclaire stopped 38 shots for his first NHL shutout to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night.
Nikolai Zherdev and Fredrik Modin scored goals to help the Blue Jackets end a four-game losing skid and extend the Kings' winless streak to four.
Leclaire was the Blue Jackets' first pick - and the eighth pick overall - in the 2001 draft. He shared the job a year ago before Columbus traded Marc Denis to Tampa Bay for Modin and backup goalie Fredrik Norrena on June 30.
For the most part, the Kings set the tempo and controlled the puck throughout the game but failed to score on eight power plays. They outshot the Blue Jackets 38-14. It was the second-fewest shots Columbus has ever had in a win.
Seconds after the Kings' Anze Kopitar lost the puck on a backhand with a wide-open net in front of him late in the first period, the Blue Jackets broke through.
Rick Nash dug the puck off the short boards and tossed a long pass that found Zherdev skating clear of the defense. Zherdev deked to the forehand side then went to the backhand and chipped the puck high into the net over goalie Dan Cloutier's right shoulder for his fourth goal.
The Kings were ineffective on seven consecutive chances with a man-advantage from early in the first period through the first 2 minutes of the third period.
Leclaire also turned aside the Kings during 50 seconds of 5-on-3 midway through the second period. He twice stopped Rob Blake on slap shots during the two-man advantage.
At the 8:15 mark of the third, Modin carried the puck behind the net and then fed David Vyborny, who passed back to Modin for a one-timer from the right circle. It was Modin's second goal of the year.
The Kings have scored one or fewer goals in seven of their last nine games. They had 11 goals in the first three games, 12 in the nine games since.
Notes: RW Dan Fritsche returned to the ice for Columbus after missing four games with a shoulder injury. ... The Kings are 10-8-1-2 in the series with the Blue Jackets. ... Nash had been scoreless in his last four games before assisting on the opening goal. ... Columbus had also lost its last two games at Nationwide Arena.

WELL THE LOSING KEEPS HAPPENING AND TO THE JACKETS
I AM HOPING THEAT ADAM RETURNS SOON HIS TEAM NEEDS HIM

Someone gather a search party, we are on a mission to find Adam!

Kings are sucking and Cloutier isn't very good this year. Another reason they should have waited before giving him a 2 year extesion.

I agree Todd. Its not like Adam to have fallen off the face of the earth.

ADAM HAS BEEN GONE I WILL HELP HIM OUT HERE BUT HURRY BACK SOON WE ALL MISS U
DALLAS (AP) -Jeff Halpern scored the winning goal with 3:44 left and rookie goalie Mike Smith made 32 saves to lift the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory over the slumping Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

Halpern's first goal of season came when he rebounded Jere Lehtinen's shot past Los Angeles goalie Mathieu Garon.

The Stars, who lost Friday night to Detroit, extended the Kings' winless streak to five games (0-4-1). It is the longest slide for Los Angeles since it lost the last 11 games of the 2003-2004 season.

Smith, who shut out the Phoenix Coyotes in his NHL debut on Oct. 21, improved to 2-0 as starter Marty Turco took the night off.

Los Angeles continued to struggle offensively as it has scored just 14 goals over the last 10 games.

Philippe Boucher and Stu Barnes had goals as Dallas, 9-2-0, matched the franchise mark that was set in 1996-97.

Barnes' first goal of the season gave the Stars a 2-1 lead with 44.5 seconds left in the second. Rob Blake scored early in the second on a power play, snapping the Kings' 0-for-23 slide with the man advantage.

The Kings tied the score at 2 on Tom Kostopoulos' goal at 7:10 of the third.

Los Angeles pulled Garon in the final minute and had a two-man advantage for the final 28.7 seconds when Sergei Zubov was called for hooking. However, the Kings couldn't get a shot off.

Garon had 25 saves for Los Angeles, but he was bested by the 24-year-old Smith.

Smith, who faced 22 shots against the Coyotes, but saw far more action from the Kings. Los Angeles outshot Dallas 34-28 one night after taking 38 shots in a 2-0 loss to Columbus.

Los Angeles, who came in next-to-last on the power play, was 1-of-8 with a man advantage.

Boucher opened the scoring with a goal from just above the right circle at 14:34 of the first.

Blake flipped a shot from near the blue line for his first goal of the season, and Los Angeles' first power-play goal in five games.

Dallas' Matthew Barnaby had two assists, including a nice pass to a streaking Barnes, who beat Garon from the right circle to give the Stars a 2-1 lead with 44.5 seconds left in the second.

Notes: Dallas C Steve Ott left the game in the second and did not return because of an ankle injury. ... Los Angeles C Craig Conroy played in his 700th NHL game. ... Dallas C Mike Modano saw his four-game goal streak end.

I WATCH IT LIVE AND ON YAHOO SPORTS AND THEY WIN
LOS ANGELES (AP) -The Los Angeles Kings snapped a five-game losing streak by taking control in the first period.

Defenseman Brent Sopel scored the first two goals of the game, and Sean Avery added a goal and an assist for the Kings in a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday night.

"This is the way we have to play every night," Sopel said. "We have to play with hard work. This is the best league in the world, and if you don't work hard you're not going to get the wins. Lately we've been working hard and not getting the bounces - but tonight we did."

Alexander Frolov also scored and Craig Conroy had two assists for the Kings, who won for only the second time in their last 11 games. Mathieu Garon made 28 saves for Los Angeles, which returned from a four-game road trip.

Brendan Shanahan scored for the Rangers, who were 0-for-9 on the power play in their first road loss to the Kings since March 9, 2000.

"We don't have a single easy game this season, based on how we have chosen to play so far," Rangers coach Tom Renney said. "Not that any game is easy, but you can make life a lot easier on yourself if you would just check in with the commitment of playing hard, playing together and avoiding the penalty box. It'll kill you every time."

Los Angeles led 2-0 through one period after outshooting New York 21-5 with the help of five power plays, one of which led to Sopel's second goal of the game and fourth this season. He had only two in 68 games last season with the Kings and New York Islanders before undergoing surgery on his right knee in May.

"It looked like we had no legs, for some reason," Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr said. "They jumped on us in the first period and we didn't have a chance. We had a choice - let them skate by us or take a penalty, and we took penalties. Some guys were killing penalties the whole first period and others weren't even getting on the ice. They kind of dominated us in that first period, and we couldn't come back because their goalie was playing so good."

Sopel, who missed the previous two games with a sore foot after blocking a shot in Wednesday's loss at Minnesota, opened the scoring at 5:06 of the first period with the teams skating 4-on-4. His one-timer from 50 feet deflected off the right skate of Rangers center Blair Betts in the high slot and flew over goalie Henrik Lundqvist's glove.

"We didn't answer the bell," Renney said. "You don't want to start too many games in the penalty box against a team that's been close in a number of games and is desperate for a win at home. Our goaltending was incredible tonight, but we didn't measure up to our goaltender's effort."

Sopel scored again at 10:52 with 35 seconds still remaining on Marek Malik's hooking penalty. He got a cross-ice pass from Conroy, and his fluttering one-timer from 45 feet above the left circle beat Lundqvist between the legs. Frolov made it 3-0 at 1:31 of the period, redirecting Conroy's centering feed past Lundqvist.

"We talked about them being a better team than their record indicated," Shanahan said. "They came out and had a great first period and we didn't start playing until the second period. But by then they had built a significant lead. The penalties were a reflection of us not being ready to play."

The Rangers scored on a wrist shot by Shanahan from the middle of the right circle that caught the short side past Garon's stick. It was Shanahan's 10th goal of the season and 608th of his career, tying Dino Ciccarelli for 13th place all-time and putting him within two of Bobby Hull's total.

Avery ended the scoring less than two minutes later.

Notes: The Rangers played their first game at Staples Center since Dec. 31, 2003. ... The attendance was 17,236 - 882 short of a sellout. It was the first time a Rangers-Kings game at Los Angeles did not draw a full house since Nov. 2, 1995, when 14,358 showed up at the 16,005-seat Forum. ... Kings Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Miller has written a book chronicling his favorite anecdotes from 34 seasons behind the microphone. ... Avery received a minor penalty for diving with 6:58 left, after Jaromir Jagr shoved him lightly from behind at the Rangers' blue line.

WHERE IS ADAM I HOPE HE WAS THERE TO SEE THAT GAME

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 3, PITTSBURGH 4 OT

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Evgeni Malkin fired in a slap shot from the slot during a power play in overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings Wednesday.

Malkin made the goal 3:35 into overtime for the Penguins' fifth-straight win.

Noah Welch's goal at 7:47 of the third period tied the game for Pittsburgh.

Malkin, a 20-year-old forward from Russia, sent a wrist shot past Kings goalie Dan Cloutier 8:29 into the first period to become the first NHL player in 89 years to score in each of his first six games.

Dustin Brown tied the game for the Kings 13 seconds into the second period. Rob Blake tapped in a rebound during a Kings' power play at 4:54 of the second to give Los Angeles a 3-2 lead.

Mike Cammalleri also scored for the Kings. Derek Armstrong had two assists.

Pittsburgh's 18-year-old rookie Jordan Staal netted his fifth goal of the season in the first period.

NO ADAM AND LA KEEPS LOSING BUT I WILL KEEP THIS THREAD GOING IN HIS ABSENCE
WHERE EVERE PLEASE COME BACK ITS NOT THE SAME ESPECIALLY WHENU GET TO SEE THEM LIVE

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 4, PHOENIX 6

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -Shane Doan returned to the Phoenix lineup and scored two goals to help the Coyotes beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-4 on Saturday night.

The Coyotes captain, out for three games with a back injury, scored the first and fourth goals of Phoenix's fourth victory in 14 games this season.

The scoring barrage led to the benching of both starting goalies, Phoenix's Curtis Joseph early in the first period and the Kings' Mathieu Garon early in the second.

Joseph's replacement, David LeNeveu, had 38 saves as the Kings outshot Phoenix 43-24.

The Coyotes, who entered averaging just over two goals per game, scored five straight goals to erase a 3-1 deficit and go up 6-3 in the second period.

Ed Jovanovski had a goal, assist and one spirited fight for the Coyotes.

Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky pulled Joseph after the Kings scored twice in the first seven minutes, the first on a power-play goal by Anze Kopitar and second by Tom Kostopoulos that put the Kings up 2-1.

Derek Armstrong scored on Leneveu to make it 3-1. But the Coyotes came back with two goals in a 28-second span late in the first period.

Enver Lisin scored his first career goal, in his 10th NHL game, on a deflection of Zbynek Michalek's shot at 13:59, then Georges Laraque took a superb pass from Patrick Fischer and sent it past goalie Mathieu Garon at 14:27 of the first period to make it a 3-3 tie entering the second.

Phoenix scored twice early in the second, prompting Kings coach Marc Crawford to replace Garon with Dan Cloutier after Jovanovski's power-play goal made it 5-3 at 5:33 of the second.

The Coyotes, beaten by the Kings 4-0 in their first meeting of the season, promptly scored on Cloutier, too. Dennis Seidenberg's first goal of the season capped a run of five goals in a row to put Phoenix ahead 6-3 at 6:38 of the second period.

Los Angeles cut the lead to 6-4 at 17:34 of the second when Leneveu tried to cover the puck with his hands. But it popped free, and Alexander Frolov knocked it into the net.

Notes: Doan doubled his goal total for the season. ... Joseph was pulled after two periods of Phoenix's 6-2 loss at Anaheim on Friday. ... Kings defenseman Rob Blake appeared in his 1,000th NHL game. ... Coyotes C Mike Comrie injured a foot in the third period against Anaheim and didn't play.

GAME RECAP

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 6, COLORADO 5

DENVER (AP) -Sean Avery came up with both the backbreaker and the heartbreaker.

Avery scored a short-handed goal in the second period that keyed a four-goal rally and added the game-winner in the third period as the Los Angeles Kings held off the Colorado Avalanche 6-5 Tuesday night.

"We just are all trying to get goals and win games," Avery said. "We have been playing hard and the bounces haven't been going our way. But tonight they did."

Avery's first goal broke a 2-2 tie in the second period, and his second made it 6-4.

"Getting the breakaway short-handed seemed to lift our spirits a little bit," Kings coach Marc Crawford said. "We got some big saves from our goalie, so the second was our best period by far. We shot the puck very well, and whether that was a reflection of great shots or subpar goaltending, it was a game tonight where the shooters were good and the chances were plentiful.

"Thankfully, we capitalized on a few more than they did."

Colorado center Tyler Arnason set up a frenetic finish when he scored with 2:01 left, and the Avs had a power play for the final 1:17 after Mattias Norstrom was called for high-sticking. But Colorado couldn't tie it.

Avs goaltender Jose Theodore, who was seeking his first four-game winning streak since Oct. 31 to Nov. 8, 2005, with Montreal, allowed four goals in the second period and was replaced by Peter Budaj with Colorado trailing 5-2 to start the third.

"We had a couple of defensive breakdowns, but they also made some great plays," Budaj said. "Of course, they score one short-handed and that sort of thing should never happen.

"Our team showed a lot of character. Our guys worked really hard. Our third period was really good. It's a 60-minute hockey game. If we would have played the same way as we did in the third we probably would have won."

After Craig Conroy's goal put the Kings ahead 1-0, the Avs outshot the Kings 7-0 over the final 4:42 of the first period, and two of those went past Dan Cloutier to give Colorado a 2-1 advantage. Marek Svatos tied it at 1 with 3:52 left when he scored on a power play with an assist from Joe Sakic, and 24 seconds later Wojtek Wolski scored off a give-and-go with Ossi Vaananen.

The momentum quickly shifted, however, when Lubomir Visnovsky tied it at 2 just 2:20 into the second period, and then the Kings scored two goals a minute apart to take control.

Avery gave the Kings the lead with a short-handed goal off a pass from Alexander Frolov, his first of three assists.

"When you do that short-handed, they are generally killers," Colorado coach Joel Quenneville said.

A minute later, Scott Thornton received the puck from Michael Cammalleri and put it past Theodore for a 4-2 lead.

Frolov assisted on Anze Kopitar's goal with 2 minutes left in the period that made it 5-2 and led to Theodore taking a seat for the third.

Brett McLean's goal 90 seconds into the third cut Colorado's deficit to 5-3, and Sakic scored at 12:08 to pull the Avalanche to 5-4. With the goal, Sakic tied Ray Bourque (1,506 with Boston) for the fifth-most points for a single franchise in NHL history.

Just more than a minute later, Avery's second goal made it 6-4.

"We don't need games like this," Avs forward Ian Laperriere said. "We played poorly and at times have found ways to win. That's what happened against Vancouver, but not tonight. You can't play like this for 82 games."

Notes: Sakic needs one assist to tie Stan Mikita (926) for 15th place on the NHL's career list. ... Theodore saved 17 of 22 shots. In his previous three games, he stopped 97 of 103

i hope adam didn't see this game
FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 3, SAN JOSE 7

LOS ANGELES (AP) -Patrick Marleau had three goals, Jonathan Cheechoo scored twice to end a seven-game drought, and the San Jose Sharks routed the Los Angeles Kings 7-3 Thursday night.

Steve Bernier had a goal and an assist, and Milan Michalek had three assists for the Sharks, who earned their third straight road win. Vesa Toskala made 35 saves and improved to 4-0 against Los Angeles.

Alexander Frolov, Brian Willsie and Sean Avery scored for the Kings, who have won only three of 15 games and have allowed 22 goals the last four games.

San Jose scored its first four goals during a 5:14 span of the opening period against Mathieu Garon, who has surrendered 12 goals on 43 shots over his last two starts.

The Sharks, who came in with an NHL-best 24.5 percentage on the power play, converted the first time they had the man advantage after Garon was given a tripping penalty during a goal-mouth scramble. Marleau tied it 1-1 at 11:25 of the opening period after Garon failed to control the rebound on a one-timer by Christian Ehrhoff.

Bernier put San Jose ahead to stay at 14:00 with a short backhander.

Ehrhoff made it 3-1 at 16:23 with a screened slap shot from the slot after Garon tried to clear the puck behind the net and Patrick Rissmiller intercepted it.

Cheechoo, who led the league last season with a franchise-record 56 goals, then completed a 2-on-1 rush and scored into an open net 16 seconds later after Garon committed himself to Rissmiller at the left of the crease.

Marleau made it 5-2 at 10:15 of the second period when he converted Michalek's pass from behind the net. He push the lead to four goals just under 8 minutes later, completing his second career hat trick.

Notes: Marleau, the Sharks captain, had his other NHL hat trick on April 6, 2002, against Detroit. ... San Jose coach Ron Wilson became a grandfather when his daughter gave birth to a girl early Thursday morning. ... Marleau had six goals in eight games against the Kings last season. Cheechoo had nine. ... The Kings honored D Rob Blake for playing his 1,000th NHL game. Blake, in his second stint with the Kings, reached the milestone on Nov. 4 at Phoenix. ... Cheechoo's longest stretch without a goal last season was eight games. ... Michalek has 18 points in 17 games. He had 35 points in 81 games as a rookie last season.

THE LA KINGS CLAIMED MARTY MUARRAY OFF WAIVERS FROM PHILLY AND
PLACED DEFENSEMEN BRENT SOPEL ON THE IR RETROACTIVE TO NOV 4


MAN LA HASN'T DONE WELL IN OT OR THE SHOOT OUT AS U WILL SEE
FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 2, MINNESOTA 3 (SHOOTOUT)

LOS ANGELES (AP) -Manny Fernandez got his 100th NHL win and Todd White scored the deciding goal in the sixth round of a shootout, leading the Minnesota Wild to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

Minnesota is 6-0 this season in games that go past regulation and the Kings are 0-4. Fernandez made 30 saves and Los Angeles' Mathieu Garon had 32.

The prettiest move of the game came in overtime when Kings forward Michael Cammalleri carried the puck into the Minnesota zone, faked a slap shot, then stickhandled between the legs of defenseman Kim Johnsson before Fernandez stopped his scoring attempt at the edge of the crease with 3:31 left.

The Wild are 3-0 against Los Angeles this season. Fernandez, who has started all 15 games for Minnesota, has stopped 99 of 103 shots in the three victories.

After facing the NHL's top power play Thursday night in a 7-3 loss to San Jose, the Kings went up against a Minnesota squad that boasted the league's top penalty-killing unit. But Los Angeles had only one power-play opportunity against the Wild, who have allowed only two goals in their last 50 short-handed situations.

Kurtis Foster put Minnesota ahead 2-1 just 1:46 intot he third period, beating Garon high to the glove side with a one-timer from 50 feet that changed direction off Kings defenseman Rob Blake. However, Cammalleri tied it with 8:46 left in regulation, putting a short wrist shot past Fernandez's stick from short range after defenseman Martin Skoula had trouble clearing the puck from the low slot.

Mattias Norstrom connected for Los Angeles at 2:43 of the first period with his first goal of the season and first in 23 career games against Minnesota. Brian Willsie won a faceoff deep in the Wild zone and Cammalleri got it back to the left point, where Norstrom unloaded a slap shot that skimmed off Skoula's skate and beat Fernandez to the glove side.

But Minnesota capitalized on Norstrom's holding penalty, tying the score at 16:49 of the second period with only their second power-play goal in six road games this season. Brian Rolston, who scored a career-high 34 goals last season, got his team-high 11th on a one-timer from 45 feet while teammate Branko Radivojevic and Kings defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky were screening Garon.

Notes: Minnesota had the last six power plays of the game, including one in OT after the Kings received their second bench minor for having too many players on the ice. ... The longest stretch of consecutive starts by Fernandez prior to this season was 13 (March 5-April 2, 2006). ... C Alyn McCauley has yet to play for the Kings since signing a three-year, $6 million contract as an unrestricted free agent. He has been sidelined since undergoing two surgeries on his left knee, which hampered him during last season's playoffs with San Jose. ... Minnesota C Wes Walz returned to the lineup after missing three of the previous four with a hip flexor. ... Marian Gaborik, who missed his eighth straight game because of a groin injury, has 13 goals in 19 career games against the Kings - including the game-winner in overtime on Oct. 18 at Staples Center. ... The departure of C Pavol Demitra to Minnesota has adversely affected Kings C Craig Conroy, who has only one goal and four assists in 19 games after recording 22 goals and 66 assists last season playing on a line with Demitra.

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 4, SAN JOSE 2

LOS ANGELES (AP) -The Los Angeles Kings' special-team units were almost perfect.

They converted two of three power-play opportunities in a 4-2 victory over San Jose on Monday night, while stopping all four man-advantage situations by the team with the league's best power-play percentage.

Dustin Brown scored the go-ahead goal with 3:10 left in the third period while Steve Bernier of the Sharks was serving a holding-the-stick penalty.

Alexander Frolov had two goals and an assist, and Lubomir Visnovski had a goal and an assist to help the Kings win for only the fourth time in their last 17 games.

"They did a great job on the penalty kill," Sharks forward Jonathan Cheechoo said. "Anytime you make a team go all the way back to their own end, it's going to tire the power play unit out. When you spend a lot of time in your end, it's going to cost you some goals."

Milan Michalek and Joe Thornton scored for the Sharks, who were playing at Staples Center for the second time in five nights after beating the Kings 7-3 last Thursday.

"When they have the puck, they're one of the best teams in the league, so you want to take them out of their offense as much as possible," Kings defenseman Rob Blake said. "It was a great effort. That's a great team over there, so you have to have that effort. We didn't have it against them a couple of nights ago, but tonight we battled and got some bounces to go our way."

The Sharks were outshot 34-18, two nights after overcoming a 39-18 shot differential in a 2-1 victory at Phoenix.

"We've been getting outshot 2-1, and it's only a matter of time before that catches up to us," coach Ron Wilson said. "We were awful in Phoenix and we got away with it. We weren't much better tonight. I'm disappointed, but I'm glad that happened to us. It gives me an opportunity for lots of teaching points."

Brown got a cross-ice pass from rookie Anze Kopitar and beat Vesa Toskala to the stick side from short range for his third goal of the season, 37 seconds after referee Mick McGeough sent Bernier to the penalty box. Toskala came in 4-0 lifetime against the Kings with a 2.00 goals-against average.

Frolov scored into an empty net with 23 seconds to play.

Thornton, who won his first NHL scoring title last season with 125 points, snapped a 1-1 tie just 47 seconds into the third period when he beat Dan Cloutier between the legs with a 10- foot wrist shot from a sharp angle to the right of the net for his fourth goal.

The Kings tied it on a power play with 15:58 left in regulation. Visnovsky beat Toskala on a screened 55-foot slap shot while rookie defenseman Matt Carle was serving a delay-of-game penalty for clearing the puck over the glass.

"We did quite a bit wrong tonight. We weren't making the little plays that we should have, and it ultimately cost us in the end," Cheechoo said. "A little thing like getting the puck in deep, it's going to make them get go back and get it. Then you can put some pressure on them and cause some turnovers in their end. But they did a good job in the neutral zone and we just never adjusted."

The Sharks recorded only one shot on net during the first 14 1/2 minutes - but they made it count. Michalek shrugged off a check by Visnovsky along the right boards, carried the puck through the right circle and beat Cloutier to the short side at the 9:51 mark.

Los Angeles tied it just 41 seconds before the first intermission. Toskala stopped Visnovsky's slap shot from the left point, but the rebound caromed off Kings forward Sean Avery lying in front of the crease and Frolov banged home the loose puck for his seventh goal.

Notes: Luc Robitaille, who retired last April as the Kings' all-time goal scoring leader and the highest-scoring left wing in NHL history, was named Monday as Assistant to the Governor and Alternate Governor for the club. Robitaille's No. 20 will be retired on Jan. 20. ... San Jose G Evgeni Nabokov, who missed the final 52 minutes of Saturday's game at Phoenix with a stiff neck after taking a hit from Coyotes C Mike Zigomanis, is expected to make his next start on Wednesday at Colorado. The Sharks have been alternating starting goaltenders all season. ... San Jose has allowed more than three goals only three times in its last 14 games.

BOY WITH ADAM GONE IT SEEMS NO FUN AL ALL

LOS ANGELES (AP) -R.J. Umberger scored the tying and go-ahead goals 2 1/2 minutes apart, capping a three-goal rally in the third period and lifting the Philadelphia Flyers to a stunning 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.

Alexander Frolov gave the Kings a 3-1 lead with 10:36 to play, scoring his second of the game at the end of a 2-on-1 break with Craig Conroy. But the Flyers capitalized on two giveaways in the Kings' end to pull even.

Mike Knuble knocked the puck off defenseman Lubomir Visnovski's stick and it bounced right to Simon Gagne, who beat Dan Cloutier from close range with 6:47 remaining. Just 40 seconds later, Umberger stole the puck from Dustin Brown at the top of the left circle, whirled around and beat Cloutier as Flyers forward Mike Richards provided a screen.

The Flyers completed their improbable comeback when Richards' centering pass caromed off the left skate of Kings defenseman Mattias Norstrom and right to Umberger, who swept his sixth goal past Cloutier with 3:37 left.

Geoff Sanderson extended his goal streak to three games and assisted on the winner, helping the Flyers win consecutive games for the first time this season after six straight losses. Richards had three assists.

The Flyers came to Southern California with the NHL's worst record but defeated Anaheim and Los Angeles on consecutive nights.

Brian Willsie gave the Kings a 2-1 lead with 17:23 left in the third.

The Kings appeared to have another goal 59 seconds later when Mike Weaver shrugged off a check from Joni Pitkanen in the left circle and made a centering pass that deflected into the net off Flyers defenseman Alexandre Picard. But the goal was nullified by a delayed penalty.

Los Angeles killed off three Philadelphia power plays before the Flyers opened the scoring with 1:04 left in the first period on Sanderson's wraparound goal off Cloutier's left skate. Frolov tied it 2 1/2 minutes into the second with his sixth goal in eight games.

The Flyers, who gave up an average of 39 shots the previous three games, limited the Kings to just three in the first 14 1/2 minutes. One was a breakaway by rookie Anze Kopitar, who was denied by goalie Antero Niittymaki at 13:19 of the opening period.

Notes: This was the second time the Flyers beat Los Angeles and Anaheim on the road in consecutive nights. They also did it Jan. 2-3, 2003. ... Former Flyers goalie Ron Hextall is the Kings' assistant general manager. He spent the previous four years as Philadelphia's director of pro hockey personnel.

FLYERS AREN'T GOOD AND WE STILL LOSE TO THEM

Ah, river cats fan has an interest outside of Sacramento baseball. But I would've figured you'd be a Sharks fan, living in Northern California there. Hopefully the Kings can pull out a great season here. Hopefully!

I WAS FAN LA KINGS SINCE I LIVED IN IOWA SO KINGS CONTINUE TO BE MY TEAM GOOD OR BAD FOR 20 YRS

LOS ANGELES (AP) -Craig Conroy made sure that Alexander Frolov's third consecutive two-goal game wasn't wasted.

Conroy netted the go-ahead score with 11 minutes left, leading Los Angeles to a 5-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday. The Kings, who gave up three goals in a 3:10 minute span late in the third period of a 4-3 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday, surrendered three goals on seven shots by the Coyotes to blow a 3-0 advantage.

"We battled so hard to get that three-goal lead, I mean, that should almost be game over," Conroy said. "Little mistakes have been costing us big time. We've got to regroup and find ways not to let that happen."

Frolov is the first Kings player with three consecutive multigoal games since March 1993, when Luc Robitaille had a had trick against Calgary and followed that with two-goal efforts against Ottawa and Edmonton.

"Fro is about as hot as anybody in the league right now," Conroy said. "He's got that little bit of swagger and confidence in his game - especially right now. He's feeling it. He feels like every time the puck is on his stick, it's got a chance to go in. And when you play with a guy like that, you want to give him the puck as many times as possible and let him dictate what's going to happen out there."

Rob Blake also had a power-play goal for Los Angeles, and Scott Thornton scored into an empty net with 14.1 seconds left on an assist from Frolov.

Georges Laraque and Yanic Perreault scored 42 seconds apart, narrowing the gap to 3-2 with 18:37 left in the second period, and Oleg Saprykin's fluke goal tied it with 13 1/2 minutes remaining. Laraque passed the puck into the slot, where it took a weird bounce toward the net off Saprykin's stick and fluttered over goalie Dan Cloutier's left shoulder and caromed in off the post.

But this time, the Kings didn't fold. Conroy regained the lead with a slap shot from the top of the left circle that beat relief goalie Curtis Joseph. It was only the second goal for Conroy, who had 22 last season.

"It was a tough loss," Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky said. "We made a nice comeback, but it's disappointing because we didn't get more out of it. I feel really bad for my guys in there because I thought they gave a real honest effort out there and they deserved better."

Frolov opened the scoring at 11:47 of the first period with a power-play goal, then added a short-handed tally 7 minutes into the second period, driving Phoenix goalie David LeNeveu to the bench after 16 shots.

Owen Nolan was serving a penalty for goaltender interference when Conroy passed the puck out from behind the net, and Frolov one-timed it past LeNeveu's stick for a 1-0 lead.

"He's not getting the job done. It's as simple as that," Gretzky said of his rookie goaltender. "I know he's a better goalie than he's shown. The first goal should have been a save. Your best penalty-killer has got to be the goalie, and that goal got us on our heels."

Blake made it 2-0 at 4:34 of the second, tapping in his own rebound after Lubomir Visnovsky's slap shot went wide of the net.

Phoenix was awarded a power play at 6:05 of the period after Los Angeles was penalized for having too many men on the ice. But the Kings responded 55 seconds later with Frolov's 12th goal of the season and ninth in 10 games.

"Even when we were down, I thought we were playing better than the score indicated," Phoenix defenseman Nick Boynton said. "We stuck to the game plan and we came back, but unfortunately we didn't get the result we wanted."

Notes: Sean Avery earned his 100th NHL point with an assist on Blake's goal. ... Frolov also had 12 goals in his first 22 games last season, but only nine in his final 47 contests. ... The Kings had 39 shots on net and are averaging 34.3 over their last 12 games. ... Perreault has five goals in his seven games since signing with the Coyotes on Oct. 29. but no one else on the team has more than four. ... Kings C Derek Armstrong played for the first time since Nov. 4. He missed five games with an injured collarbone. ... The Coyotes have won only one of the last 15 road games against the Kings.
LA WINS AND HAS GREAT RECORD AGAINST THIS TEAM

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 3, SAN JOSE 6

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -Now that Pickle and Jo-Jo have scored their first NHL goals, the San Jose Sharks can't wait to see what else their newest young talent can do.

Of course, their veteran talent also had plenty to contribute.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Pavelski scored their first goals, while Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau each had a goal and two assists as the Sharks rebounded from an embarrassing loss with a 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night.

The victory was a tonic for the Sharks, blown out 5-0 by Anaheim one night earlier in a showdown between two of the league's most successful teams.

Thornton had another standout game, but got his greatest excitement from the milestones achieved by his rookie teammates - and the Sharks won't let the youngsters' success go to their heads. Mike Grier jokingly attempted to block reporters from speaking to Pavelski, while Thornton teased them with goofy nicknames.

"Now we're going to expect them to score in every game," Thornton said. "We've done a good job all year rebounding from bad games, and this is something we can learn from."

The Sharks played without injured forwards Jonathan Cheechoo (leg) and Milan Michalek (arm) in their seventh victory in nine games. Vesa Toskala allowed two soft goals while making 24 saves - but with the Sharks' wealth of firepower, it didn't matter.

Marleau got his 200th career goal as San Jose recovered from its disappointing Anaheim trip in style, scoring four goals in the first 9 minutes of the second period to rout the Kings in the Pacific Division rivals' third meeting in 14 days.

"We wanted to bounce back, and it's good to get (the goal) off my shoulders," said Vlasic, the precocious 19-year-old defenseman who hadn't scored a goal in his first 22 NHL games. "I wasn't worried. I knew it would come eventually."

Pavelski, a center who led Wisconsin to the NCAA title last spring, made his NHL debut for the Sharks after getting a 4 a.m. call requesting his services while he was in Massachusetts with San Jose's top minor league affiliate. He took Michalek's place on a line with Marleau and Bernier, and got his goal on a rebound of Hannan's shot midway through the third period.

"I don't know what time it is, but I'm having fun," Pavelski said.

Steve Bernier and Marcel Goc added second-period goals, and league MVP Thornton paced the Sharks' victory with his fifth three-point game of the season. He had the primary power-play assists on San Jose's tying and tiebreaking goals, then added his own sixth goal of the season on an expertly placed shot through traffic 2 minutes into the second period.

Marleau added his team-leading 13th goal 58 seconds later, and Goc chased Dan Cloutier by deflecting Scott Hannan's long shot into the net midway through the period, putting the Sharks up 5-1.

San Jose coach Ron Wilson claimed he said nothing special to spark the outburst.

"Our defensemen were just playing way too passive and caving in the neutral zone," he said. "We had to step up and get in people's faces rather than sitting back and watching them have a field day. I don't think we played as well as the score shows ... but that was about the best hockey we've played in two weeks in that 10 minutes (of the second period)."

Scott Thornton, Dustin Brown and Lubomir Visnovsky scored for the Kings, who came back rusty after a four-day layoff. Cloutier made just seven saves on 12 shots before getting yanked.

"It seems when one thing goes bad, five things go bad," said Scott Thornton, who spent his last five seasons with the Sharks. "We even called timeout and talked about staying composed. They got three, four shots in a row and had some good tips and good screens, and they're in the net. It was nice to be back in San Jose, but the good feeling didn't last too long."

Vlasic, who surprised even himself by earning a roster spot out of training camp, scored when Joe Thornton collected a loose puck behind Los Angeles' net and set up an easy shot in the first period. Thornton found similar holes in the Kings' defense throughout the night.

"Our guys have made some mistakes because we're young and inexperienced," Los Angeles coach Marc Crawford said. "We're putting guys in positions maybe they're not ready (for), but in order to find out if they're ready, we have to put them in."

Notes: The Sharks put Cheechoo on injured reserve before the game, but the 56-goal scorer last season could return as early as Saturday's game against New Jersey. Cheechoo was hurt in a goal-mouth scramble against Colorado last week. ... Michalek, who had 23 points in his first 22 games, got hurt when his arm was bent awkwardly against the boards in Anaheim.

KINGS MISS A CHANCE TO MOVE UP

LA JUST LOST THIS ONE
DALLAS (AP) -Dallas Stars defenseman Philippe Boucher has a lot on his mind these days, but he was able to muster enough concentration to score three power-play goals.

Boucher's hat trick led the Stars to a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night.

On Saturday morning Boucher was scheduled to leave the team and visit his father, Jean-Claude, who is in a Quebec hospital battling pancreatic cancer. Boucher's mother, Jacqueline, recently had bypass surgery.

"Playing 60 minutes of hockey is an escape for me," Boucher said. "I'm going to go back and give (one of the pucks) to (my father)."

Before the game, Stars coach Dave Tippett told Boucher that he had permission from the club to skip Friday's game and fly to Quebec early.

"With everything going on in his life right now, I asked him if he even wanted to play tonight, but he told me he wanted to play and I'm glad he did," Tippett said.

Boucher has had hat tricks in juniors, the minors and in the preseason, but Friday was the first in the regular season in his 14-year NHL career.

"There was traffic on all three goals," said Boucher, who scored each from the point. "It was just crank and shoot. Our guys did a great job screening the goalie."

Dallas surged to a 3-0 first-period lead on two man-advantage goals from Boucher and one from defenseman Sergei Zubov. Eric Lindros assisted on all three.

The Stars, 5-2 in their last seven games, went 3-for-5 on the power play in the first period.

Seven of the goals came on the power play, two by Dustin Brown of the Kings, 2-4-1 in their last seven games.

Dallas' four power-play goals were the most for the Stars since scoring four against Los Angeles on Nov. 15, 1997.

"Power plays were the difference in the game," Kings coach Marc Crawford said. "I was not surprised with (Dallas') power play. Their offense comes from their point men and tonight Boucher found holes on three of his shots."

Jere Lehtinen added an empty-net goal for Dallas with 25 seconds left to make it 5-3.

Alexander Frolov of the Kings crashed the net and capitalized on a two-man advantage with his 13th goal of the season at 8:17 of the final period to narrow the deficit to 4-3.

But the Kings couldn't get the tying goal past rookie goalie Mike Smith, who stopped 22 shots. Smith was playing in his third straight game and making his second consecutive start in place of Marty Turco. Tippett said Turco isn't in danger of losing his spot as the team's top goaltender, but Tippett wanted to see how Smith responded to consecutive starts.

"It's been a pretty exciting week for me, getting a couple of wins in a row," Smith said. "It's a big confidence builder."

Smith relieved Turco in the first period of Monday night's 5-4 victory over Colorado, then Smith got his second career shutout in a 1-0 win over Nashville on Wednesday night.

Dallas has won all four of its games against Los Angeles this season.

Boucher's first goal glanced in off the stick of a Kings' defender at 4:30 of the opening period to get the scoring under way.

Zubov made it 2-0 at 12:53 of the opening period with a one-timer from 40 feet while the Stars held a two-man advantage, and 26 seconds later Boucher beat Kings goalie Mathieu Garon from beyond the right circle to stretch the lead to 3-0.

But Brown scored his man-advantage goals over a span of 2:21 in the second period to pull Los Angeles within 3-2.

Brown's first goal at 5:48 snapped Smith's shutout streak at 105 minutes, 7 seconds.

Boucher's third goal of the night and sixth of the season came on a blast from just inside the blue line at 11:00 of the second period to push Dallas' advantage to 4-2. Fans littered the ice with hats to mark the Stars' first hat trick of the season.

Notes: Smith improved his record to 5-1. ... Mike Modano's assist on Boucher's second goal was his 1,200th NHL point. Modano is the 42nd player in NHL history to reach the milestone. ... Lehtinen was back in the lineup after missing four straight games with a leg injury. ... Stars captain Brenden Morrow also returned after sitting out one game with a groin injury, but reinjured the groin in the first period and did not return. Tippett said Morrow was held out as a precaution and that he should not be sidelined long-term

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 3, NEW JERSEY 2

LOS ANGELES (AP) -The Los Angeles Kings knew the numbers, and played well enough that they didn't matter.

Michael Cammalleri and Lubomir Visnovsky scored during regulation, and the Kings got shootout goals from Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov to beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Monday night.

Los Angeles was 1-for-6 on the power play against a team that came in averaging a league-low 11.1 penalty minutes. The Kings have had the man advantage a league-leading 157 times this season and have converted on 27 occasions. The Devils have been short- handed a league-low 81 times and have allowed 11 power-play goals.

"The coaches brought that up tonight and made it known to us that we were going to have to work extra hard to draw penalties," Cammalleri said. "I think that by getting the puck down low behind their defensemen, moving our feet and making them work hard to not give us scoring chances, that's how you force teams to take penalties."

Brian Gionta and Travis Zajac scored during New Jersey's first two power plays, but it wasn't enough as the Devils ended a five-game road trip with their fourth straight defeat - matching their longest losing streak of last season.

"They definitely were able to pick us apart in certain areas of our game," said Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, who made 26 saves. "They got some pucks to me, got some guys crashing to the net and had a couple of screens in front of me. A couple of them they got a little lucky on, but you've got to give them credit. They played well. We scored a couple of power-play goals, but when it was 5 -on-5 we didn't do the job."

The Kings, coming off a 3-1 victory over Calgary on Saturday, have won consecutive games for the first time since beating St. Louis and the New York Islanders last month.

"When you play good against a good team, you feel comfortable on the ice and you believe in yourselves," Frolov said. "We just have to keep doing the right things as a team and not make any stupid mistakes defensively."

Mathieu Garon made it possible for the Kings to get to overtime, kicking out a last-second shot from the high slot by Brian Rafalski for his 20th save after Scott Gomez passed the puck from behind the net.

Brodeur made an even better save 25 seconds into the extra session, sprawling to his right to thwart Dustin Brown after a perfect centering pass through the crease from Kopitar.

Kings forward Brian Willsie, who had only 14 penalty minutes in the Kings' first 25 games, was in the penalty box for both Devils goals.

New Jersey began the second period with a full power play and needed only 16 seconds to take advantage. Gionta, who hit the left post about 2 minutes into the game, opened the scoring with a wrist shot past Garon's glove.

Willsie was off for slashing when Garon stopped a one-timer by Rafalski, but Zajac flicked the rebound into a wide-open net for a 2-1 lead at 13:56 of the second.

Cammalleri tied it exactly 4 minutes later, using defenseman Colin White as a screen and beating Brodeur high to the stick side with a slap shot from the top of the right circle while Jamie Langenbrunner was off for hooking. It was the 100th NHL point for Cammalleri, who has scored eight of his nine goals this season at home.

"Whitey was just on no-man's land there," Brodeur said. "That's a tough play. A lot of teams are using that play against us and we're trying to work on it as much as he can. Whitey just got himself on the wrong side of Cammalleri and he screened me just enough. But you've got to give him credit. When you pump the water bottle from out there, it's a good shot."

Notes: The Devils haven't lost more than four in a row since a six-game skid in November 2000. ... New Jersey has scored more than three goals only once in their last 20 games. ... Kings D Oleg Tverdovsky, who helped the Devils win a Stanley Cup in 2003, missed his sixth straight game because of a groin strain. His next game will be his 700th in the NHL. ... Kopitar assisted on Cammalleri's goal for his 23rd point, the most among NHL rookies. ... Devils C Jim Dowd played in his 600th NHL game. ... New Jersey has allowed more than three goals only twice in 14 games, a stretch that began with consecutive shutouts by Brodeur against Florida and Columbus. ... Brodeur has not allowed more than three goals in 11 consecutive starts.
2 in row can we get three

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 3, ANAHEIM 4

LOS ANGELES (AP) -The Anaheim Ducks played near perfect hockey for two periods. The final moments of their fifth straight victory didn't measure up.

Teemu Selanne had two goals and an assist, Rob Niedermayer scored in his 800th NHL game, and the Ducks beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 on Saturday despite giving up two power-play goals in the final 2 minutes.

"Obviously we didn't put together the 60 minutes that we wanted to, but can't expect them to quit because they're a good club," Anaheim forward Ryan Getzlaf said. "They've got a lot of pride in that dressing room and they showed it."

Scott Thornton triggered the Kings' three-goal rally in the third period. Rob Blake and Dustin Brown both connected with the man advantage after delay-of-game penalties to Todd Marchant and Scott Niedermayer for clearing the puck over the glass.

"You never want to criticize a win, but we had a little letdown and there were some things we feel we maybe let things slip a little bit," Ducks defenseman Sean O'Donnell said. "We made a couple of mistakes on some clears, and they got two. I was on for both those goals, and I don't think we were mentally strong enough there."

Anaheim (20-2-6) is off to the best start in franchise history, leading the NHL with 46 points. After establishing club marks last season with 43 wins, 98 points, 254 goals and 87 power-play goals, the Ducks are on pace to eclipse those totals.

Travis Moen had a goal and an assist, helping Anaheim improve to 3-0 against the fourth-place Kings and open up a 24-point margin over them in the Pacific Division standings.

"Anytime you have a chance to distance yourself from a team in your division and your conference, it's good to come away with the two points because that's two points they can't get," Getzlaf said. "These are big games for us."

The teams face each other again Sunday at Anaheim. It's the fifth time the Kings and Ducks are playing back-to-back games since the rivalry was born in 1993-94, and just the second time on consecutive days.

"These are our cross-town rivals," Kings coach Marc Crawford said. "These guys are the kings of the castle right now, and they're on top of the heap. We have to play with a lot of emotion in order to beat them tomorrow, or anytime."

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 38 saves - five during a two-man advantage the Kings had for a full 2 minutes in the second period with the Ducks hanging on to a 2-0 lead.

"It was a big turning point of the game," Giguere said of the Ducks' penalty-killing unit, which had allowed only three goals in 51 short -handed situations on the road. "You don't want to be overaggressive on a 5-on-3, but we made sure they had a hard time getting into the zone."

Moen opened the scoring at 4:11 of the first, converting a rebound after Dan Cloutier stopped Samuel Pahlsson's short backhander. Selanne scored on a one-timer from the left circle during a hooking penalty against Craig Conroy.

Anaheim extended its lead to 3-0 at 17:22 of the second when Moen's wrist shot from the top of the right circle deflected into the net off Rob Niedermayer's leg.

Selanne got his second of the game on another one-timer from the left circle on a setup by Chris Pronger. Selanne, who led the league in November with 10 goals and 23 points, has recorded nine of his 13 goals in the last eight games.

"I don't think I've tried to change anything. I just try to make the right decision at the right time, when it's time to shoot or pass," Selanne said. "When you play with great players, you get great passes."

Cloutier was benched during each of his previous two starts, after giving up five goals on 12 shots at San Jose on Nov. 22 and three goals on five shots at Phoenix on Thursday. Crawford didn't have much choice but to start him against Anaheim because Mathieu Garon was sidelined with a groin injury.

Notes: The Ducks have played 19 regular-season games at Staples Center since the arena opened in October 1999. This was the fourth time it wasn't a sellout. ... The Ducks-Kings matchup was part of Saturday's all-Southern California "hat trick." The Lakers played the Clippers in the nightcap of the Staples Center doubleheader, and UCLA hosted USC at the Rose Bowl. ... The Kings are 0-12 when trailing after two periods.


la plays them again at sunday pm

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 3, ANAHEIM 2

ANAHEIM, CA. (AP) -The Los Angeles Kings have to win games in blue-collar fashion.

"We've said all along that we're not going to out-skill teams, we're going to outwork teams," Kings goalie Dan Cloutier said Sunday night after Los Angeles' 3-2 win over the high-flying Anaheim Ducks. "We may not have the skill that the Ducks have, so we have to do it in other ways. Tonight was one of those examples.

"We threw everything at the net, but that's just the way we have to play. We have to play that hardworking game - throw everything at the net and crash the net."

The Kings, beaten 4-3 by the Ducks in Los Angeles the previous day, did outwork them in the rematch, outshooting them 41-29 and skating with more energy.

Alexander Frolov scored twice for Los Angeles, and Derek Armstrong broke a 1-1 tie with his second-period goal.

Frolov's second goal, with 1:16 remaining, gave the Kings an insurance goal. They needed it because the Ducks' Todd Marchant scored with 38 seconds left.

The Kings ended a seven-game losing streak against the Ducks, including the three earlier meetings this season. Los Angeles also snapped a five-game overall winning streak by Anaheim, which lost for just the third time in regulation this season.

Kings coach Marc Crawford obviously was pleased.

"Sometimes it's fortunate for a team when you're playing a top club, you know you have to be great to beat them. We were tonight," he said. "We're very deserving of the win. We played hard and played physically and won with big hits. We did the right things."

Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer agreed.

"They deserved to win," he said. "They were skating and played a good game. They played hard. We didn't respond well."

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said the Kings played with more desperation.

"It seemed like we got frustrated with it and didn't react in the proper way," he said. "There aren't too many times you can say that about this group, but tonight was one of those nights."

Frolov was cruising down the slot, took a cross-ice pass from Sean Avery and beat Jean-Sebastien Giguere from close range for his 16th goal. Marchant then converted on a rebound at the other end for his seventh goal of the season.

Giguere entered the game with 12:34 remaining when Ilya Bryzgalov, who got his first start since Nov. 17, went down awkwardly stopping a shot and had to leave the game.

Armstrong put Los Angeles in front to stay at 9:25 of the second period, picking up the puck during a scramble in front of the Ducks' net and flipping a backhander past Bryzgalov on the glove side.

After the Ducks opened the scoring on Ryan Getzlaf's power-play goal at 7:00 of the first period, Frolov evened it at 18:11.

Bryzgalov stopped 30 of 32 shots before he was injured. Giguere faced nine shots.

Lubomir Visnovsky's pass from near the slot set up Frolov's first goal. Frolov one-timed a shot from the top of the right circle that sailed into the net high on Bryzgalov's stick side.

Notes: Although they've won just one of four meetings against Anaheim this season, the Kings have outshot them 157-111, and have had at least 40 shots in three of the games. ... Los Angeles leads the league in power-play opportunities with 164. ... Teemu Selanne had two goals and an assist in the Ducks' victory over the Kings a day earlier, but was shut out in the rematch. ... Bryzgalov was 3-1-1 with a 2.14 goals-against average going into the game. He was 2-1-0 with a 2.65 GAA in three starts against the Kings last season. ... Giguere is 16-1-5.


we win and i hope adam comes back since he is down from there and we could use his live ice encounters

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 1, NASHVILLE 4

LOS ANGELES (AP) -After getting thoroughly dominated by the top team in the NHL down the freeway in Anaheim, the Nashville Predators came to Staples Center and dominated one of the league's most inconsistent clubs.

Scott Hartnell celebrated his 400th NHL game with a power-play goal and the Nashville Predators beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 on Thursday night.

"It was a big win for us," coach Barry Trotz said. "We needed that to sort of getting back that feeling of winning again. We got contributions from all areas of our lineup."

Kimmo Timonen and rookie Alexander Radulov also scored on power plays and Martin Erat had a career-high three assists, helping the Central Division-leading Predators end a three-game losing streak. Teammate Jerred Smithson added a short-handed goal off a sloppy turnover by rookie defenseman Peter Harrold.

Goaltender Chris Mason, making his seventh consecutive start since Tomas Vokoun tore ligaments in his left thumb on Nov. 23, stopped 20 shots.

"Chris has been great," teammate Paul Kariya said. "He played extremely well for us last year when Vokie went down, and he's been fantastic for us this year. It's terrific to have two goalies like that and know whoever's playing is going to be there for you."

Alexander Frolov scored his 17th goal for Los Angeles with 16:20 remaining. The embarrassed Kings held a closed-door players-only meeting after the game that lasted a half-hour.

"We didn't play with the desperation that I know we can play with," coach Marc Crawford said. "I feel awful about that effort. When you have an effort like that, you really do have to search your souls. And we're going to have to do some serious searching for the entire team."

After a scoreless and penalty-free first period, the Kings were called for five minor penalties in the second. Two of those power plays were converted into goals by the Predators, who were 1-for-21 with the man advantage over their previous five games.

Dustin Brown and Alexander Frolov received hooking penalties 3:36 apart for fouling Nashville's Paul Kariya. The Predators capitalized on the second power play at 6:46 of the second period, as Erat's centering pass from the right of the net was redirected through Dan Cloutier's legs by Hartnell as he was knocked down from behind by Kings defenseman Aaron Miller.

"Our power play wasn't very good the last few games and it's kind of cost us," Kariya said. "So it was nice for us to win the game on the power play. It came through big-time for us."

Hartnell's goal was his first in 20 career games against Los Angeles.

"I was thinking about that before the game - that I'd never scored here," Hartnell said. "Some teams just have your number. My agent's from L.A., so it was nice to finally get one."

The Kings squandered their only power-play opportunity of the second period in a big way after Timonen was sent off for hooking. Harrold had the puck in his own end and tried to pass it back to Mattias Norstrom, but fanned on it. Smithson, who was forechecking on the play, quickly took possession in the slot and fired a 25-foot wrist shot past Cloutier's stick for his first short-handed goal in 117 NHL games.

"Jerred Smithson did a great job pressuring their defensemen and I think that young guy got a little nervous and coughed it up," Hartnell said. "But it was a great shot that he beat Cloutier with."

Jeff Cowan was serving a roughing penalty when Timonen made it 3-0 with a wrist shot from the left circle that beat Cloutier as Hartnell screened the Kings' goalie. Radulov, the 15th overall pick in the 2004 draft, converted a centering pass by Josef Vasicek with 12:03 remaining for his eighth goal in 15 NHL games.

"He's just a pure goal-scorer," Mason said. "Some guys are just that way. He's really deceptive with the way he shoots the puck and he finds a way to put it in the net. That's his forte. He's really showed that he deserves to be here."

Notes: Nashville RW Steve Sullivan left the game in the first period after sustaining a groin injury on his seventh shift. Trotz said he is doubtful for the Sharks game and added that RW Patrick Leahy could be recalled from Milwaukee of the AHL.

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 5, COLORADO 4

LOS ANGELES (AP) -Craig Conroy netted the go-ahead goal with 6:12 remaining and Michael Cammalleri scored twice, leading the Los Angeles Kings to a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.

The Kings played their grittiest game of the season, outshooting Colorado 38-30 after recording a season-low 21 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss against Nashville. They took their only lead when Conroy poked a rebound past Jose Theodore from the edge of the crease.

Los Angeles rallied twice from one-goal deficits after defenseman John-Michael Liles scored to give Colorado a 3-2 lead.

Cammalleri got his 12th of the season during a power play, but Pierre Turgeon regained the lead for the Avalanche with a long wrist shot after a turnover by Kings captain Mattias Norstrom. Scott Thornton then tied it again with 9:38 left.

Tom Kostopoulos also scored for Los Angeles and Derek Armstrong had two assists.

Colorado captain Joe Sakic scored a power-play goal and set up another Liles' goal. Antti Laaksonen also scored for the Avalanche.

Turgeon played in his second game after missing the first 27 following offseason shoulder surgery. His 512 career goal tied Gilbert Perreault for 30th place on the NHL list.

The Kings were 0-13 when they trailed after two periods.

Liles left the game temporarily at 13:30 of the second period after Brian Willsie's wrist shot hit him in the face. Just 34 seconds later, the Kings tied it 2-all on a wrist shot by Cammalleri.

But Liles returned and gave the Avalanche a 3-2 lead with a one-timer from the slot that beat Dan Cloutier through a screen. The power-play goal was the seventh by Colorado in three games with the Kings this season.

Laaksonen opened the scoring 3:25 in with a short wrist shot for his second goal of the season.

The Avalanche, who scored three power-play goals against the Kings in a 6-1 victory on Oct. 23, made it 2-0 about 3 1/2 minutes later on Sakic's goal during a scramble. The Avalanche were 1-for-15 with the man advantage the previous three games.

Kostopoulos got the Kings on the board at 4:27 of the second with his fourth goal and first since Nov. 1.

Sean Avery and Colorado forward Ian Laperriere, teammates for parts of two seasons in Los Angeles, got into a fight at 9:52 of the first period. Avery was ejected for not having his jersey securely fastened to his pants.

Notes: Kings coach Marc Crawford guided the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup title in 1996. Sakic is the only player left with the team. ... Colorado D Karlis Skrastins played in his 500th NHL regular-season game, including 462 straight - the second-longest streak by a defenseman in NHL history. ... Colorado D Patrice Brisebois was a healthy scratch for the second time in four games. ... Sakic's 1,520 career points are the most among active players, and the fifth-highest total in history by a player with one team
la rallies from behind i hope adam saw th is

LA FALLS JUST WHEN WE NEED TO WIN AGAINST A DIVISION FOE
FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 1, SAN JOSE 3

LOS ANGELES (AP) -Joe Pavelski is still getting used to his new NHL career.

Playing his 10th game since being called up last month, the 22-year-old rookie scored two goals and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 36 shots in the San Jose Sharks' 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

"I was pretty tired at the end," said Pavelski, who helped the University of Wisconsin win the national championship last season and has seven goals in 10 NHL games.

Two of the Sharks' three goals came on the power play, rated second-best in the NHL. They have won three in a row and eight of 10.

The Kings have lost four of six, and trail Pacific Division leader Anaheim by 28 points.

"We're just not good enough," Kings center Derek Armstrong said. "The first two periods we were getting the pucks to the net and I think we tried to play too wide open in the third and it cost us."

Pavelski gave San Jose a 2-0 lead in the second period when, after clearing the puck out of the Kings' zone, Patrick Rissmiller found him alone up the ice and he beat Dan Cloutier 1-on-1.

"They shoot from everywhere and we know that," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "They're not always dangerous, but they make the goalie work. We did a good job clearing rebounds."

With Sean Avery sent off for tripping, Pavelski made it 3-0 in the third. He beat Cloutier to the stick side after the goalie was caught looking the other way and fell on his face.

"I've capitalized on a lot of opportunities I've gotten," said Pavelski, who scored in his first NHL game against Los Angeles. "I'm just so new and I want to keep things going."

The Kings were forced into a 5-on-3 situation for 47 seconds when Peter Harrold was penalized for hooking and Avery went off shortly after.

"It opened things up with the 5-on-3, and (Joe Thornton) put the pass right there," Pavelski said. "Anytime Joe has the puck, guys are looking around."

Nabokov's bid for his fourth shutout of the season was spoiled by Lubomir Visnovsky at 10:26 of the third. Nabokov didn't have a clear read on the shot, which went off a player's skate, but the Kings were outshot 15-5 in the final period after taking more shots than San Jose in the first two periods.

"They were putting the pressure on," Nabokov said about the Kings' late flurry. "They were making our defense work. We knew they were going to come out harder."

Rob Blake and Michael Cammalleri were scoreless on eight shots each.

The Sharks led 1-0 in the first on a power-play goal by Steve Bernier. The puck ricocheted off the boards and went to Bernier, who scored his 10th goal of the season on a rebound.

Cloutier made 28 saves in his sixth consecutive game subbing for starter Mathieu Garon, who is recovering from a groin injury.

Notes: Nabokov has allowed one or fewer goals in his last five games, with a 4-1 record. ... The Kings fell to 1-3 against the Sharks this season, and have lost 15 of 18 against their Pacific Division rival. ... The teams meet again Thursday in San Jose.

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 4, SAN JOSE 2

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -Barry Brust was grateful he had no time to contemplate the enormity of stopping Joe Thornton and his fellow San Jose Sharks.

For the Kings' young goalie, simply doing it was much easier than thinking about it.

Anze Kopitar scored two goals and Brust made 34 saves in his first NHL victory, leading Los Angeles to a 4-2 victory over the Sharks on Thursday night.

Brust, who spent last season and most of this fall with the Kings' AHL affiliate in Manchester, had been enjoying a quiet stint as Dan Cloutier's backup while Mathieu Garon nurses a groin injury. But Brust unexpectedly got the call for his second NHL appearance when a shot hit Cloutier in the arm during pregame warmups.
WE GET A BIG WIN THE DIVISION AND SUPRISE THE SHARKS ON THE ROAD LETS THANK BRUSK
FOR GREAT GOALTENDING

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 3, DALLAS 4 (SO)

LOS ANGELES (AP) -Brenden Morrow scored the tying goal on a power play with 4:58 left in the third period, Mike Ribeiro had the only goal in a shootout and Marty Turco made 33 saves, leading the Dallas Stars to a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Ribeiro was the third shooter for Dallas, after teammate Jussi Jokinen and Kings rookie Anze Kopitar each hit the left post in the second round. The Stars are 15-1 in shootouts since the NHL instituted the tiebreaking format at the start of last season. They have won their three shootouts this season.

Philippe Boucher and Stu Barnes scored first-period goals for Dallas. Sergei Zubov had two assists and became the third European-born defenseman with 700 career points, joining Sweden's Borje Salming and Nicklas Lidstrom. Jeff Halpern also had two assists.

The Stars are 5-0 against the Kings this season and 11-1-0 against Pacific Division rivals altogether, the league's best record by any team within its own division. Los Angeles dropped to 5-12-1 against Pacific Division clubs - despite road victories this month against Anaheim and San Jose.

Sean Avery had a goal and an assist for Los Angeles. Dustin Brown and Rob Blake also scored for the Kings, who outshot Dallas 36-31. They are only 5-9 when getting 35 or more shots on net.

Blake put the Kings ahead 3-2 with 7:42 left in regulation, scoring on a goalmouth scramble after Avery's short wrist shot caromed off the right post and then off Turco's arm.

But Morrow got the equalizer less than 3 minutes later, beating rookie goaltender Barry Brust high to the glove side with a 40-foot wrist shot from the slot while Brown was serving a charging penalty. The Kings have allowed at least one power-play goal in nine straight games, and their opponents are 15-for-43 during that stretch.

Dallas came in having allowed only nine goals in 93 short-handed situations on the road. But their 2-0 lead was cut in half at 6:09 of the second period, just 12 seconds after Trevor Daley went off for tripping Alexander Frolov.

Brown parked himself left of the net and redirected Michael Cammalleri's perfect cross-ice feed through the crease. It was the eighth goal this season for Brown, who scored twice on power plays at Dallas on Nov. 24.

Avery tied it with 17:03 left in regulation, beating Turco low to the stick side with a slap shot from the top of the right circle.

Brust, who made 34 saves Thursday night at San Jose in his first NHL start to beat the Sharks 4-2, fell behind 2-0 in his Staples Center debut on the goals by Boucher and Barnes.

Boucher connected on Dallas' second shot of the game, a one-timer from the top of the right circle that deflected in off the left post just 55 seconds after the opening faceoff. Barnes scored at 14:58 of the period, getting a pass from the right corner from Halpern and beating Brust between the legs with a one-timer from the low slot with one knee on the ice.

Boucher, who spent parts of eight seasons with Los Angeles before signing with Dallas as a free agent in July 2002, has scored five of his 11 goals this season against the Kings - including a hat trick on Nov. 24.

Notes: Dallas and San Jose are the only teams that haven't lost in overtime or in a shootout this season. ... Stars C Mike Modano, whose 34 career goals against Los Angeles are the most he's scored against any team, missed his sixth straight game because of a hip injury. He hopes to play Wednesday night against division-leading Anaheim, which entered Saturday with a 16-point lead on third-place Dallas. ... Brust is filling in for the injured Mathieu Garon (groin) and Dan Cloutier (arm). ... Serving as backup to Brust was 24-year-old Yutaka Fukufuji, the 238th pick in the 2004 draft. No player born in Japan has ever played in an NHL game. The only other one ever to be drafted by an NHL team was D Hiroyuki Miura, by Montreal in 1992 (260th overall).

MY PARTNER GOT ME LA HOCKEY KINGS JERSEY GARON HOW COOL IS THAT
AND HAVE GOOD HOLIDAYS TO ALL FANS NO MATTER WHO U ROOT FOR.

FINAL SCORE: CALGARY 5, LOS ANGELES 3

LOS ANGELES (AP) -Calgary Flames rookies David Moss, Richie Regehr and Dustin Boyd were pressed into service because of injuries, and they didn't hold back against the Los Angeles Kings.

Moss and Regehr scored their first NHL goals, leading Calgary to a 5-3 victory Tuesday night. Boyd got his first career point on the second-period goal by Moss, who made his NHL debut after four seasons with the University of Minnesota and almost 1 1/2 seasons with Omaha of the AHL.

"We got a lot of juice out of our young players," Flames coach Jim Playfair said. "There's always some apprehension when you get that many young players out there all at the same time, but I think it really worked to our advantage."

Jarome Iginla assisted on goals by Tony Amonte and Daymond Langkow, and Kristian Huselius scored on a breakaway in the third period for Calgary.

Jamie McLennan made 27 saves for his first victory in three starts this season. He allowed four goals in each of his other two starts - both on the road, against Columbus (Nov. 3) and Anaheim (Nov. 26).

"As a group, we did an unbelievable job banding together," McLennan said. "We knew who was out of the lineup and the guys knew I was making my third start of the season. It was a total team effort."

Rookie Anze Kopitar had two goals and an assist for Los Angeles, and Dustin Brown scored on a power play.

Calgary left wing Alex Tanguay missed his first game of the season because of a charley horse and was replaced by Amonte on the Flames' top line alongside Iginla and Langkow.

"I've played with those guys before, so this is a good opportunity for me - playing on an offensive line, creating some offense and trying to get some points," Amonte said. "It's a little bit different role than the one I've played for this club most of this season."

Amonte opened the scoring at 1:24 of the first period with one of the ugliest of his 413 career goals. The 16-year veteran got the puck from Iginla in the neutral zone and caught Dan Cloutier napping with a seemingly harmless slap shot from just behind the blue line that deflected off the goalie's glove. The goal came while Scott Thornton was off for holding Andrew Ference.

"I was just trying to get the puck on the net," Amonte said. "We were just trying to get more pucks on the net from everywhere. We've talked about it as a team. Those kind of goals don't go in very often, but I'll take it."

Cloutier, the target of boos at Staples Center all season because of his erratic play, was burned again less than three minutes later on another long shot by Regehr through a screen as teammate Chuck Kobasew got tied up with Kings defenseman Aaron Miller in front of the crease.

"It's unbelievable for some of these young guys to come up and contribute like this," McLennan said. "It's a tribute to the organization that we've got really good depth. It's nice for your guys to come up here and get a taste of it and have success early."

Cloutier came in with a 3.74 goals-against average after missing the previous two games because of a shoulder injury he sustained in pregame warmups last Thursday at San Jose. The crowd of 17,247 showered him with sarcastic cheers the rest of the period every time he made a routine save.

"It was not a good way to start the game," Cloutier said. "We had a few crucial mistakes and the puck was at the back of the net. We did a good job battling back, but we made some key mistakes that cost us in the second period."

Kopitar twice cut Calgary's lead to one goal. His first score came just 36 seconds into the second period when his attempted centering pass for Brown caromed into the net off McLennan's blocker. Kopitar got his 10th of the season at 14:34 of the period after Langkow's 13th goal gave the Flames a 3-1 advantage.

"Kopitar's got a lot of poise with the puck and he really is patient," Amonte said. "He's got size and he was pretty dominant out there tonight. He's definitely going to be a guy we're going to have to key on when they come up to our place."

Notes: The Kings play five of their next six on the road - including Thursday night at St. Louis when they face former coach Andy Murray for the first time since he replaced Mike Kitchen behind the Blues' bench on Dec. 11. ... Regehr, playing in his 19th NHL game and fifth this season, is the brother of Flames defenseman Robyn Regehr. Robyn was born in Recife, Brazil. Richie was born in Bandung, Indonesia. ... The Flames, who lost 4-1 at Anaheim on Monday, have played the Ducks and Kings in back-to-back road games on 21 occasions since Anaheim joined the NHL in 1993-94. The only time Calgary left town with a sweep was in February 1994. ... The Kings have allowed at least one power-play goal in 10 straight games since killing off all five Calgary power plays in a 3-1 victory on Nov. 25 at Staples Center.
WHAT AWAY TO HAVE XMAS ALOST THEY HAVE ONE MORE CHANCE THURS

I HOPE ADAM DIDN'T SEE THIS ANYWHERE
FINAL SCORE: NASHVILLE 7, LOS ANGELES 0

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -Jason Arnott, J.P Dumont and David Legwand each scored twice and Chris Mason had 34 saves to lead the Nashville Predators to a 7-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

Paul Kariya also scored for the Predators and Mason got his third shutout of the season. It also marked the first time in franchise history three Predators scored two goals in a game.

Legwand scored on a penalty shot in the second period. He shot the puck between the leg pads of Los Angeles goalie Dan Cloutier at the 4:35 mark. The last time Legwand scored on a penalty shot was on Dec. 23, 2000, getting the game-winner in overtime against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. He is 2-for-3 in penalty shots in his career.

Kariya also had a penalty shot at 10:26 of the first period, but his shot was stopped by Cloutier.

NOT A GOOD WAY TO START XMAS

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 4, PHOENIX 3 SO
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Sean Avery scored the tying goal with 38 seconds left in regulation, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown connected in the shootout, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 Tuesday night in a matchup of the two worst teams in the Pacific Division.

Derek Armstrong had a goal and an assist and Rob Blake scored on a power play for the Kings, who ended a four-game losing streak after outshooting Phoenix 7-0 in overtime.

Los Angeles goalie Barry Brust, who made his NHL debut at Phoenix on Nov. 30, stopped 28 shots in the rematch and all three he faced in the shootout. Kings coach Marc Crawford gave Brust the nod after Dan Cloutier allowed 15 goals over the previous three games.

a victory is what this team need even against the lowly coyotes

FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES 7, EDMONTON 4

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish didn't exactly try to sugarcoat the Oilers' disappointing performance against the Los Angeles Kings.

"It was unbelievable," MacTavish said after the Kings rallied for a 7-4 victory Thursday night. "Just painful to watch. We've been poor in our own end for the majority of the losses we've had in the last little while.

"We're back playing the way we used to pre-lockout. We were brutal. We were dangerous in both ends and it ended up costing us again."

Alexander Frolov had a goal and two assists and Dustin Brown, Rob Blake, Lubomir Visnovsky, Alyn McCauley, Sean Avery and Brian Willsie also scored for the Kings.

The Kings won their second straight to creep to within five points of the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference, a four-way tie that includes the Oilers.

"We have to keep (winning)," Kings coach Marc Crawford said. "Our team has to find a way to eke out wins and scrape and claw our way back into the race. The only way to do that is to put a streak together. There are a lot of good teams, especially in the Northwest and you have to be at the top of your game to beat them."

Frolov said the victory was doubly important because it came against the Oilers.

"Edmonton is the type of team we are hoping to catch for the playoffs so we were really prepared for this game," Frolov said.

Ryan Smyth, Daniel Tjarnqvist, Jarret Stoll and Fernando Pisani scored for Edmonton. Smyth was back in the lineup less than a month after fracturing a thumb. Despite missing most of December, Smyth leads the Oilers with 17 goals.

"Obviously we still had the turkey legs," said Smyth, who led the Oilers with seven shots on goal. "We were playing a pond hockey game there and with the offensive power they have over there they were able to capitalize on their chances."

Smyth gave Edmonton a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal early in the second period, and Stoll made it 4-2 just 32 seconds later with another power-play goal.

The Kings countered with a power-play goal of their own later in the period when Blake scored the first of the Kings' five straight goals.

After Frolov tied it at 4, Avery put the Kings ahead to stay with 1:59 remaining in the second. Visnovsky and McCauley, into the empty net, scored in the third.

Notes: Blake played in his 700th game for the Kings. ... The Kings will complete their Alberta swing on Friday night in Calgary.

watch out hot now 2 up can it be 3