ROENICK NETS SHOOTOUT WINNER CONTROVERSIAL SHOT CAPS RALLY FROM TWO-GOAL DEFICIT KINGS 3, NASHVILLE 2, SO.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

Jeremy Roenick lumbered up the ice, carrying the puck on his stick and the figurative weight of a disappointing opening month on his back, desperately wanting to bury both.

Roenick certainly has scored more visually pleasing goals in his 17-year NHL career, but the two points the Kings earned Saturday for their 3-2 shootout victory over Nashville in front of 17,556 fans at Staples Center were far more important than any style points Roenick lost for his bulldozing shootout goal.

The Kings, who trailed 2-0 after one period, skated circles around the Predators in the third period and scored twice to tie the score, then won it in the first shootout in franchise history.

``Everybody in the building got treated to an unbelievable hockey game,'' Roenick said.

It came with some debate at the end. After Kings goalie Jason LaBarbera made two shootout saves and Pavol Demitra scored for the Kings, Roenick had a chance to win it. He lost the puck near the top of the goal crease but pushed it past Nashville goalie Tomas Vokoun, who ended up sitting in the net.

``I lost my (skate) edge a little and I knew I was going down, but I still tried to push it across,'' Roenick said.

The Kings celebrated and the Zamboni rolled onto the ice, but then everyone noticed referee Dennis LaRue on the phone with the video-review judge. Roenick, while stumbling toward the net, appeared to score on a rebound, which is not legal, but the goal was allowed to stand.

``On a penalty-shot situation, or overtime with a shootout, a player can only make one shot,'' LaRue told a pool reporter. ``The question was whether Jeremy had played it a second time, a rebound. I didn't see that on the ice, and it was apparently confirmed on the replay upstairs. That's what they were checking for, to see if the puck was played a second time.''

There was some question after the game as to whether a double-touch call is even reviewable, but it became a moot point as the Kings extended Nashville's winless streak to five games.

``It was pretty dramatic, pretty special,'' Kings coach Andy Murray said.

And it was pretty meaningful that Roenick netted the decisive goal. Roenick admittedly has played below standards, struggling with nagging injuries and the general difficulties of coming back after a year off.

But Murray played a hunch Saturday. The coach, who is big on meticulous preparation, kept a list of shootout participants, numbered one through 11, in his blazer pocket, but was impressed enough with Roenick's game Saturday that he decided to move the veteran to second on the list.

Roenick entered the game with just three goals and one assist in 14 games but picked up an assist Saturday along with the memorable shootout goal.

``I moved JR up a spot,'' Murray said. ``I thought he had his best game today and I thought he was going to score. He really got us going in the second period and I wanted him to score that goal.''

The Kings appeared to be on their way to defeat after a first period in which they allowed two goals and totaled only two shots until late in the second period. Things turned around a bit in a scoreless second period and the Kings blitzed the Predators in the third and outshot them 21-2.

Craig Conroy scored 1:01 into the period and Tom Kostopoulos slapped in a rebound for his first goal of the season with 4:28 remaining to tie the score.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Veteran Jeremy Roenick celebrates after scoring the winner in the Kings' first shootout in franchise history.

Edna T. Simpson/Daily News