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Friday, Oct. 6 7:00pm ET
With Kolzig watching, Kings pounce early | |||||
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- After the Washington Capitals celebrated their accomplishments of last season, the Los Angeles Kings got this season underway in spectacular fashion. Luc Robitaille scored two first-period goals as the Kings converted three of their first eight shots against Craig Billington and cruised past Washington 4-1 on Friday night. Robitaille scored at 1:36 on the Kings' first shot. Rob Blake made it 2-0 at 3:20 on Los Angeles' third shot and Robitaille completed the flurry at 10:54. "The quick start was important," Kings coach Andy Murray said. "You've got some pretty good shooters there. If you've got the basketball, you might want Michael Jordan shooting it. We don't mind if Luc Robitaille and Rob Blake have the shots." The duo delivered a devastating 1-2 punch that essentially knocked the Capitals to the canvas. "I think if I was a boxer, I just took a good uppercut, maybe a good straight-on blow," Billington said. "I bounced back up, but it's not easy." The three-goal flurry was more than enough offense for Los Angeles goalie Jamie Storr, who made 19 saves. Robitaille finished with two goals and his 598th career assist, and Eric Belanger had a goal and two assists in his NHL debut. The evening started with the Capitals raising a banner commemorating last season's Southeast Division title. But when the game started, the star of that team was forced to watch from the seats. Olaf Kolzig, who won 41 games and the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goalie, will be sidelined at least another week while recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. He was replaced by Billington, who went 3-6-1 last year and was 0-4-0 lifetime against Los Angeles. The smoke from the pregame fireworks had barely dissipated when Robitaille took a back pass from Jaroslav Modry at the top of the right circle and sent a wrist shot over Billington's left shoulder. "Let's face it, any guy with 500-plus goals has a knack for finding the net," Billington said. Blake then took a drop pass from Craig Johnson and lined a shot into the left corner of the net. Minutes later, Robitaille scored from the left circle off a pass from Belanger. "We knew this was their night, this was their big opening. So we wanted to come out hard," Robitaille said. "I've seen this happen lots of times, where they raise a banner and you come out a little tentative and nervous, and before you know it you're behind the 8-ball," Capitals coach Ron Wilson said. "Sometimes you just end up expending all your energy before the game even starts. That's what it looked like to me." Washington's Calle Johansson injected some hope into the crowd of 18,082 by firing a slap shot from between the circles with 47 seconds elapsed in the second period, concluding a 5-on-3 advantage. But Storr, who missed the Kings' last four preseason games with a sprained left knee, stopped everything else that came his way. Belanger made it 4-1 at 17:12 with his first NHL goal off a pass from Ziggy Palffy. "Unbelievable feeling. I don't think I've had a feeling like that in my whole life," the rookie said. "I hope it's the start of a whole lot of feelings like that. To get the first goal in the first game is great." Game notesIn 11 games against the Kings before Friday, Billington had a 2.28 goals-against average. ... Los Angeles improved to 15-11-8 in openers. ... Kris Beech, Washington's first choice in the 1999 Entry Draft, made his NHL debut and received his first penalty in the third period. He did not record a point. ... Nine out of the last 10 times the Capitals have lost their season opener, they've gone on to finish over .500 and reach the playoffs. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Los Angeles Clubhouse Washington Clubhouse RECAPS New Jersey 8 Montreal 4
Los Angeles 4 AUDIO/VIDEO   Rob Blake puts the puck past Craig Billington.avi: 700 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | |||||