UNFIT KINGS TIED AGAIN DESPITE STRONG FINISH, WINLESS STREAK HITS 11 KINGS 2, COLUMBUS 2.Byline: Rich Hammond Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer There are no must-win NHL NHL Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, see there games in early January, but an understandable level of desperation surrounded the Kings entering Saturday night's game against Columbus. Mired mire n. 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. Deep slimy soil or mud. 3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty. v. in a long winless streak and with a four-game trip upcoming, the Kings needed to add two points to their total, if for nothing else than to improve their mental health. It didn't happen. Trent Klatt Trent T. Klatt (born January 30 1971 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota) is a retired professional ice hockey player. During his 14-year NHL career, Klatt played for the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers , Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings. scored twice and the Kings might take some solace from a brilliant third period, but it wasn't enough to end their skid as they played the Blue Jackets to a 2-2 tie in front of 18,118 at Staples Center This article has multiple issues: * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. and extended their winless streak to 11 games. ``It's getting very tiresome,'' Klatt said, ``but I thought with the effort we put forth, we deserved a better fate. We have to keep working hard, and sooner or later we're going to get results.'' The Kings slumbered through the second period and suffered another significant loss when Martin Straka Martin Straka (born September 3, 1972 in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic) is a Czech ice hockey centre who currently plays for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. left with what initially has been diagnosed as a sprained knee, after a knee-to-knee collision. ``You would think we've already served our penance for whatever bad things we've done,'' coach Andy Murray joked. ``At this point, we don't give it a second thought, we just plug somebody else in there. It's too bad for Marty, but we have to move on.'' An excellent third period, in which the Kings outshot the Blue Jackets 16-5, put the fans on their feet, but the Kings couldn't put a puck in the net. They haven't won a game since Dec. 16. Most of Saturday's game didn't have much aesthetic quality, but since Ziggy Palffy isn't coming back this season, the Kings need to get accustomed to trying to win ugly. ``We don't have a Ziggy Palffy,'' Ian Laperriere Ian Laperrière (born January 19, 1974 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is an ice hockey player in the NHL. He played in the QMJHL 1990-1993 and was drafted by the St. Louis Blues of the NHL in the 7th round and pick number 158 in the 1992 draft. said, ``and we don't have anybody to really replace Ziggy Palffy, but if we stick with the guys we have and play hard, we'll have a chance to win games.'' Kings goalie Roman Cechmanek hasn't won a game since Dec. 6, partly because of a prolonged hip injury but also because of some shaky play. Cechmanek looked mostly sharp, particularly during an aggressive second period by the Blue Jackets, and made 31 saves. Columbus entered the game with the worst record and fewest goals scored in the Western Conference, recently suffering through its own winless streak of nine games. But things didn't start well for the Kings. John Tripp John Tripp may refer to any of the following people
Todd Marchant Todd Marchant (born August 12, 1973 in Buffalo, New York, U.S.) is a National Hockey League center who is currently playing for the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL. He has played nine seasons with the Edmonton Oilers and one season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, as well as AHL games with worked the puck back to the blue line and defenseman Anders Eriksson Anders Eriksson (born January 9, 1975, in Bollnäs, Sweden) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player with the Calgary Flames in the NHL. Playing career He was drafted 23rd overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. fired a slap shot. Rick Nash ran traffic in front of Cechmanek, who saw the shot too late and gave up the goal. The Kings picked up some spark in the middle part of the period, led by a couple of good shifts from the line of Derek Armstrong, Klatt and Straka, and the work paid off late in the period. With Columbus' Duvie Westcott in the box for interference, Armstrong wound up for a slap shot, but the puck struck the chest of Klatt, who was standing in front of the Columbus net. Klatt settled the puck at his feet and beat Columbus goalie Marc Denis with a wrist shot to tie the game with 23 seconds left. The Kings should have felt fortunate to get out of the second period tied 2-2. They were outshot 9-1 through the first 10 minutes and trailed for most of the period because of a defensive lapse. Just more than a minute in, Geoff Sanderson bumped Lubomir Visnovsky off the puck behind the net and centered a pass to Marchant, who knocked a one-timer past Cechmanek for a 2-1 lead. Once again, the Kings struck on the power play, and tied the game with Rostislav Klesla in the box for high sticking. Jaroslav Modry shot from the top of the left faceoff circle with Klatt and Armstrong running interference in front. Klatt tipped the puck past Denis Denis, king of Portugal: see Diniz. with 3:50 remaining to make it 2-2. Rich Hammond, (818) 713-3611 rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Kings goalie Roman Cechmanek, left, blocks a shot in front of a fast- closing crowd Saturday night at Staples Center. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer |
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