Becoming Part Of The Ian-Crowd
Laperriere again scores twice; Kings move to 7th in West
(from the Daily News)
By Matt McHale
Staff Writer
February 23, 2004 - There was a time when the only numbers they counted for Ian Laperriere were the stitches on his nose.
His lunch-pail career will never hang in a museum, but his two goals Monday night might rank as some of the biggest in the Kings' push toward the playoffs.
Not only did they give Laperriere 200 career points in his 10-year career, but they led the club to a 3-0 victory over Nashville in front of 17,612 at Staples Center that moved the Kings from ninth to seventh in the Western Conference race with 20 games to play.
Let the record show Mike Cammalleri also scored and backup goaltender Cristobal Huet posted his fourth career shutout by stopping 21 shots against a team that scored 18 goals in its previous three games.
But for the good-natured Laperriere, rarely known for his goal scoring, it was his second consecutive two-goal game. Today at practice, he is sure to remind teammates that he was a scoring star back in junior hockey in his native Quebec.
The Predators, one of the Kings' chief rivals for the final playoff spots, also have 69 points but remain ahead of the Kings based on victories -- they have 30, the Kings 24.
The Kings halted Nashville's momentum, which had swelled during a three-game winning streak. During that run, newly-acquired Steve Sullivan recorded five goals and five assists and was named NHL offensive player of the week.
Against the Kings, he was held to one shot during the first two periods and three for the game.
In addition to Laperriere, Cammalleri scored an insurance goal for the Kings. It came at 2:45 of the second period and it might be even more significant to the Kings in the long run.
Cammalleri is one of the Kings' brightest prospects. But after a string of eight goals in 11 games during late December, he was sent to the minors after going 11 games without a goal.
Cammalleri was one of the quickest players on the ice for the Kings on Monday and scored on a pass from Jozef Stumpel.
The Kings entered the game needing victories to keep with the tightly bunched group that includes St. Louis, Calgary and Nashville.
They came out with early pressure on the Predators, controlling the action in the Nashville zone and hoping to catch a defensive mistake.
It came at the 8:33 mark of the first period when the Predators Scott Walker had a pass picked off by Eric Belanger at the Nashville blue line.
Belanger made a fancy backhand pass to Laperriere, who did the rest, bullying his way to the net and pushing the puck past Tomas Vokoun for the Kings' first goal.
For Laperriere, it was his seventh of the year, matching last season's total. It also was his third in two games. He had the game winner Saturday against Columbus.
Although getting goals from third-liners always seems important, seeing Cammalleri score might be even bigger.
The Kings need his offense as they hopefully wait for injured Martin Straka to return.
Straka could be back from knee surgery by mid-March but the Kings cannot wait that long. Although they have just nine road games left, five of their last seven games are away from home.
The Kings also played a patient game. They limited the number of shots the Predators took at Huet. But they also showed plenty of restraint.
When Walker and the Kings feisty Sean Avery got tangled up heading to the corner in the third period, Avery did not retaliate when Walker dropped him quickly to the ice.
Instead, he skated away and Walker received a four-minute penalty for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct. On the ensuing power play, Laperriere got his second goal that put the game away.
Rookie Tomas Zizka fired from the blue line. Laperriere stood at the side of the net and redirected it past Vokoun.
Just like a goal scorer.