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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- If the Los Angeles Kings are going to get
back to the playoffs this season, their special teams are going to
have to carry them there.
|  | | San Jose's Ronnie Stern, left, and Los Angeles' Sean O'Donnell trade punches during the first period. |
The Kings killed off a two-man advantage the San Jose Sharks had
for a minute and 52 seconds midway through the third period of
Sunday night's 4-3 victory. They also got power-play goals from Bryan Smolinski and Luc Robitaille.
"The difference in our power play is Ziggy Palffy," center Ian
Laperriere said. "We've got so many skill players to send out
there -- Ziggy, who can dance with the puck, Rob Blake with his big
shot, and Luc. Our second unit isn't too bad, either, with
Smolinski and Glen Murray."
Stephane Fiset stopped a penalty shot by Mike Ricci for one of
his 30 saves, helping preserve the Kings' first victory at the
Staples Center. Dan Bylsma and Donald Audette also scored for Los
Angeles, which beat San Jose for the fourth straight time.
"It was a real solid effort tonight," said coach Andy Murray,
whose disposition was much more genteel than it was after Friday
night's 6-3 loss to Phoenix. "Some of the things we didn't do the
other night we did tonight -- like compete hard and battle our
opponents physically."
Ricci, Gary Suter and Patrick Marleau scored for the Pacific
Division-leaders, who have lost three in a row after getting off to
the best start in the NHL at 7-2-0. It was the fourth consecutive
game in which they were blanked in the first period.
San Jose trimmed the Kings' lead to 4-2 with 1:11 left in the
second, as Suter scored during a two-man advantage after
coincidental tripping penalties to Audette and teammate Aki Berg.
The Sharks were storming the net again moments later when Fiset
made a sprawling save against Ricci. But he lost the grip on his
stick and referee Paul Stewart had no choice but to award Ricci a
penalty shot -- the first ever in the Kings' new building.
"I didn't throw my stick on purpose," Fiset said, "but it
went out of my hand. So it was the right call by the referee."
Fiset held his ground and knocked down Ricci's short wrist shot
with his glove for his fifth save in eight career penalty shots
faced.
"I've known him for a long time because I played with him for
six years, so I knew he was going to try to shoot on me it and not
try to deke," Fiset said. "I was just trying to be patient with
him and he shot it right at me."
Marleau pulled the Sharks within a goal with 2:36 remaining,
taking a pass in front from Alexander Korolyuk and scoring into a
wide-open net with Fiset out of position. The play started when
Berg fanned on a clearing pass deep in the Los Angeles zone.
The Kings, who entered the game with a league-leading power play
percentage of 31.4, opened the scoring the first time they had the
man advantage after Andy Sutton was sent off for elbowing Audette.
Smolinski beat Mike Vernon high to the glove side with a 50-foot
slap shot while Glen Murray waved his stick in front of the
goaltender trying for a tip-in.
"With the different personnel we have -- some of the young guys
on defense -- you know we've probably got to make some
adjustments," said Sharks coach Darryl Sutter, whose team is
struggling without injured defensemen Jeff Norton and Marcus
Ragnarsson.
Los Angeles made it 2-0 less than 5½ minutes into the second
period on Bylsma's first goal of the season. Steve McKenna
outworked Mike Rathje for the puck behind the San Jose net and
Bylsma stuffed the puck under Vernon's right leg after Jason Blake
made a perfect backhanded pass from the base of the left circle.
"It was a big game for us. We needed this win and everybody
came up big," Robitaille said. "Especially after the way we
played in the last game, it was important that everybody came out
and played hard tonight. That's why we won."
Robitaille gave the Kings a three-goal lead at 9:11 of the
second, one-timing a centering pass from Palffy and beating Vernon
through the pads from 20 feet. It was Robitaille's eighth goal of
the season and 525th of his career, edging him past Hall of Famer
Bryan Trottier into 21st place all-time.
Ricci scored for San Jose less than 1½ minutes later, stuffing a
rebound under Fiset, but the Kings restored their three-goal margin
at 13:26 of the second. Defenseman Brad Stuart had difficulty
controlling a bouncing puck in the neutral zone and Audette went in
alone on Vernon before faking him to the ice and flipping the puck
over his glove.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
San Jose Clubhouse
Los Angeles Clubhouse
RECAPS
Vancouver 3
NY Rangers 0
Philadelphia 2
Florida 0
Boston 3
Anaheim 2
Los Angeles 4
San Jose 3
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