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 up next, the Kings needed to add two points to their total, if 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 played a strong third period, but it wasn't enough 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 streak to 11 games. 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. They already are accustomed to injuries, and got another one Saturday 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 a sprained knee with 6:33 left in the second period. Coach Andy Murray looked at what was left of his active roster Saturday morning and came up with four line combinations drastically different from Thursday's 3-1 loss to Vancouver. Murray tried to give the Kings some balance and spread out what was left of his offensive capability, but it didn't help much, and the Kings' defensive flaws were exposed for a couple of crucial mistakes. Kings goalie Roman Cechmanek hadn'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. Columbus entered the game with the worst record and fewest goals scored in the Western Conference, and the Blue Jackets recently suffered through their 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 that 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 on the man advantage. 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 into the period, 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 tie the game 2-2. Columbus outshot the Kings 14-3 in the second period. The Kings had an excellent chance to take the lead six minutes into the third period, when Denis was prone on the ice and Modry had the puck to the right of the net. Modry couldn't lift the puck over Denis with his first shot, and then couldn't control the rebound, which was covered. The Kings started the third period with more spirit and at one point had outshot the Blue Jackets 11-3, but that increased output didn't lead to any goals. Joe Corvo took a stick to the face with seven minutes remaining but missed only one shift. 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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