[0] ROLE REVERSAL HELPS KINGS GET WIN GRIMSON IS SCORER, PALFFY THE TOUGH GUY AGAINST EDMONTON KINGS 4, EDMONTON 2.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

EDMONTON - Ziggy Palffy figured if Stu Grimson can score goals, he can be a tough guy.

There was Palffy, the league's leading scorer, heading to the penalty box early in the third period of the Kings' 4-2 victory Saturday over the Edmonton Oilers. He had crunched Doug Weight into the boards then tried to take on a few more of Edmonton's players on his way off the ice.

Kings coach Andy Murray shook his head. Grimson, the team's enforcer, already had scored his second goal in two games after going 12 years with just 13. But the sight of Palffy wrestling with the Oilers might have been just as important as Grimson's goal.

The Oilers are one of the teams the Kings are hoping to overtake in the Western Conference. The Kings (30 points) are now tied with Edmonton and face a difficult challenge tonight, when they play another tough conference foe on the road, in Vancouver. The Kings, who ended a five-game winless string on the road, have played one game less than the Oilers.

And just to prove he isn't a complete goon, Palffy capped the scoring midway through the third period with his 20th goal of the season, giving him 44 points.

Grimson's goal turned out to be the game-winner at the 13:42 mark of the second period, breaking a 2-2 tie. It also was one of 16 shots the Kings took at Oilers goaltender Tommy Salo in the second, when the game shifted from uptempo to a physical grind.

Grimson worked his way in front of Salo and took a pass from Mattias Norstrom and found the net.

Grimson got his first goal in almost a year in last Thursday's 5-2 victory against the Dallas Stars. Teammate Ian Laperrerie shot the puck in front of the net, hitting a skate, then Grimson's head before going into the net.

That goal was critical to the victory because the Kings have been seeking more scoring from their third and fourth lines. They are among the league leaders in goals and are third in the NHL on the power play, but wanted to get some momentum heading into Canada.

The victory raised the Kings record to 14-9-6. Goaltender Jamie Storr stopped 22 of 24 shots. Defenseman Rob Blake, who had two assists, was the game's first star.

It didn't look good at first when Ryan Smyth gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead midway through the first period with a power-play goal.

Bryan Smolinski was off for tripping when Tom Poti fired a shot from the point. Storr made the stop but the Kings couldn't clear the puck. Smyth poked in the rebound, extending his scoring streak to nine games.

But the Kings quickly tied the game, again on the power play. Palffy found Robitaille in the slot from behind the Oilers net. Robitaille beat Salo, who was coming off a shutout against Nashville, for his 15th goal of the season and 568th of his career.

The Kings didn't want to get into an end-to-end game with the speedy Oilers, but they showed a few moves of their own.

Just 33 seconds into the second period, Stumpel got a turnover at the Edmonton blue line and beat Salo with a 20-footer for his ninth goal.

To that point, Storr had played well, but he faltered less than four minutes later when Anson Carter put a 20-foot wrist shot through his legs for the tying goal. It was Carter's third goal in three games and sixth since he came over from Boston in the Bill Guerin trade.

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Photo: The Edmonton Oilers' Anson Carter, left, is checked by the Kings' Mattias Norstrom during Los Angeles' 4-2 victory Saturday.

Dale McMillian/Associated Press