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  Monday, Mar. 13 10:30pm ET
Stumpel comes up with game-winner again
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jozef Stumpel won't come close to winning the Hart Trophy this season, but he should be the Los Angeles Kings' MVP if they end their two-year playoff drought.

And it looks as though they will.

Stumpel has scored the game-winning goal six times this season and four times in the Kings' last five victories. Two of them have come in overtime, including his disputed goal with 1:07 left in Monday night's 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

Stumpel also set up goals by Rob Blake and Ziggy Palffy as the Kings vaulted over Phoenix into fifth place in the Western Conference standings with their third straight victory. They extended their unbeaten streak against Vancouver to 5-0-1.

Vancouver goalie Felix Potvin stopped all 16 shots in the third period and finished with 35 saves, following a 40-save effort the last time he faced the Kings in a 1-1 tie.

But Stumpel got credit for his 15th of the season _ despite video replays that clearly showed him directing the puck into the net with his left skate after Sean O'Donnell's shot from the left point deflected off the stick of a Canucks player.

"O'Donnell saw me coming to the side of the net and I was ready for it," Stumpel said. "I didn't know where the puck was, and when I looked down, I saw it go off my foot. But I didn't have an idea where it was going."

Potvin was incensed, insisting that referees Dave Jackson and Mike Leggo phone upstairs to video goal judge John Pemberton. But the goal stood, and the Canucks ended their four-game road trip seven points out of a playoff spot -- and having to jump over three teams to get in.

Alexander Mogilny scored for the sixth time in seven games to tie the score with 8:06 left in the third period, and Trent Klatt connected on a first-period power play for the Canucks.

Palffy put the Kings ahead 2-1 with his 27th goal. He got the puck from Stumpel at the top of the right circle, faked a slap shot to get around defenseman Murray Baron and used Ed Jovanovski as a screen to beat Potvin to the glove side from 20 feet.

"It's always fun to see Ziggy's moves," Stumpel said. "I passed it to Ziggy when I saw a couple of their guys coming toward me. He made a nice move, then came across and put it upstairs on the goalie."

Mogilny, whose five-game goal-scoring streak was stopped in a 5-0 loss at Phoenix on Saturday night, got the equalizer. Mark Messier stickhandled away from O'Donnell inside the Kings' zone and spotted Mogilny in the left circle. His 25-foot wrist shot beat Jamie Storr for his 21st goal.

Moments after Storr dived across the crease to rob Greg Hawgood for one of his 23 saves, Klatt opened the scoring at 14:43 of the first period while Craig Johnson was serving a hooking penalty.

He parked himself in front of the net and backhanded his seventh goal under Storr's glove.

Blake tied it just 36 seconds before the first intermission, ending the Kings' 0-for-19 power-play drought the first time they had a man advantage. It was only the fourth power play goal for Los Angeles in nine games.

Stumpel won a faceoff from Messier deep in the zone and Blake beat Potvin to the glove side with a one-timer from the right point. Blake's 17th goal tied Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom for the league lead among defensemen.

About 1 1-2 hours before the opening faceoff, Kings general manager Dave Taylor dealt disappointing right wing Donald Audette and rookie defenseman Frantisek Kaberle to the Atlanta Thrashers for right wings Kelly Buchberger and Nelson Emerson. Audette had 12 goals in 49 games this season.

 


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