TRADE WINDS BLOW KINGS' WAY L.A. ACQUIRES RONNING DURING VICTORY OVER PITTSBURGH KINGS 4, PITTSBURGH 3.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

The Kings held on for a victory Saturday afternoon. They hope they held out for a winner, too.

During the second period of their 4-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Staples Center, the Kings traded Jere Karalahti to Nashville for the Predators' leading scorer Cliff Ronning.

The Kings didn't want to let go of Karalahti, once a highly touted defenseman who saw little action this season. But before joining the expansion Predators four years ago, Ronning, 37, reached the playoffs 11 times in 12 seasons.

``We're a good team and we just got better,'' said first-line center Jason Allison, who had one assist in the game. ``We got a top scorer who can help us offensively and give us depth.''

Although general manager Dave Taylor wouldn't say if the Kings will do anything else before Tuesday's trade deadline, the Kings addressed their biggest need: scoring.

Ronning, who will join the club today for practice at 11 a.m. in El Segundo, immediately joins a second line that has been struggling. Steve Heinze, benched Saturday after failing to score a goal in 20 games, could see his playing time cut way back with the addition of Ronning, who plays center and left wing.

Bryan Smolinski, the second-line center who also does not have a goal in 20 games, should be fine, but he could see less time on the power play.

``This is all kind of sudden,'' Kings coach Andy Murray said. ``I'm not sure where everyone is going to play. But the bottom line is we got someone who can help us in a critical area.''

For the Kings (33-22-9-4), Saturday marked their third consecutive home victory and their fourth win in five games.

But until facing the Penguins, the Kings hadn't scored four goals in a game since the last time they played Pittsburgh, three weeks ago.

And this game seemed a little tainted to the players because they had jumped out to a 4-0 lead and chased goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin after one period.

But for a team desperate for balanced scoring, goals by Mikko Eloranta, Mathieu Schneider, Nelson Emerson and rookie Jaroslav Bednar were a good sign. Eloranta scored just 13 seconds into the game. Until beating St. Louis on Wednesday, the Kings got 20 of their previous 24 goals from Allison's line.

After getting the news that Ronning, who has 279 goals in 1,003 career games, had joined the team, it didn't seem so important that Randy Robitaille, Michel Rozsival and Kris Beech made it close by scoring in the final 10 minutes of the game.

``You don't like to see teams come back on you like that,'' winger Ian Laperriere said. ``I think we kind of lost a little focus. But three straight wins at home and picking up a quality scorer is a great sign.''

Ronning has 18 goals and 49 points this season. Nashville appeared to be ready to make the playoffs for the first time, but the Predators became such a poor road team, changes had to be made.

Taylor had spoken about Ronning over the years with good friend and Nashville GM Dave Poile. Ronning is earning $1.85 million this year. The club has an option for next season.

Ronning broke in with St. Louis in 1986 but reached the Stanley Cup Finals with Vancouver in 1994. He also played in Phoenix before arriving in Nashville early in the Predators' first season.

``He's good in the room, but more important he's good on the ice,'' said Robitaille, a King briefly this season who played three years with Ronning in Nashville. ``He's good with the puck and can put it in the net.''

Karalahti, 26, came to the Kings three years ago amid much hype and controversy. The native Finn spent almost a year in a drug rehabilitation center early in his European career to combat a heroin addiction. He was under the supervision of the NHL's aftercare program and never failed a drug test, but he missed a game last year because of a drinking incident.

His best year with the Kings was 1999-2000 when he had six goals and 16 points. But with the development of Jaroslav Modry and youngster Andreas Lilja, the Kings had a surplus of defensemen. Karalahti played just 30 games this year.

But he left on good terms with his suddenly former teammates, leaving an encouraging note on the dressing room blackboard before catching a plane for Nashville.

``Jere's a good guy and we'll miss him,'' Murray said. ``But this move can make us a better team.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Pittsburgh goalie Johan Hedberg, left, can only watch as Kings rookie Jaroslav Bednar's shot goes in for his first NHL goal.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) RONNING

Box:

CONFERENCE PLAYOFF RACE