Kings Wear Out Jackets
L.A. jumps to a two-goal lead before hanging on to defeat Columbus, 4-3. Laperriere has two goals and an assist.
(from the Orange County Register)
By Al Balderas
The Orange County Register
February 22, 2004 - LOS ANGELES - Ian Laperriere showed the Kings how to do it.
Laperriere scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Kings to a 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in front of 18,118 Saturday night at Staples Center.
The Kings ended a winless streak against the Blue Jackets that dated to the 2001-02 season.
The victory was especially important, not just because it came against Columbus, a team with just three road victories this season. It allowed the Kings to jump over idle St. Louis and into eighth place in the Western Conference.
"It's a big win for our team right now," Laperriere said. "We had a great start, I thought. That was the main key. We knew we needed a big start, and we did (it). Maybe at the end we had a little letdown."
The big start came in the first period when Laperriere and Luc Robitaille staked the Kings to a 2-0 lead. The Kings dominated the period, outshooting the Blue Jackets, 16-3.
"We knew our opponent played last night (Friday) and had to travel, so we wanted to make sure they played a little bit tired," Kings coach Andy Murray said. "It's a gratifying win because these games against teams like Columbus are tough to win. Obviously, our record against them indicates that."
Laperriere assisted on Sean Avery's goal, which gave the Kings a 3-1 lead in the second period. Laperriere added his second goal off a two-on-one pass from Eric Belanger and later bounced a shot off the crossbar.
Blue Jackets forward Rick Nash scored two goals in the third period to make the game close.
"It's unfortunate that it came to that, because we had really strong possession of the puck most of the night," Murray said.
STAYING ALIVE
Former Kings coach and current ESPN analyst Barry Melrose told a TV audience last week that Murray should receive top consideration as the league's coach of the year should the Kings make the playoffs. Murray has spent the entire season moving players around to make up for many injuries.
"We just convinced our players that we don't have any choice," Murray said. "It doesn't matter who we have in the lineup. If we lose, we feel lousy. It doesn't change the circumstances, so why not dig in?"
Other factors have played a role in the Kings' ability to survive.
"I know that one thing you guys don't talk enough about is the character we've got in this room," Laperriere said. "The young guys and even older guys, Trent Klatt and Derek Armstrong and Luc (Robitaille) ... all of the guys that have been playing all year have battled for us. They took them (the injuries) as a challenge to be better, and all of the team is playing better."
Murray, despite the shuffling and reshuffling of his lineup, has found that some good news can come out of what has been an injury-plagued season.
"So many guys are getting the chance," Murray said. "If we had not had so many injuries, they may have been career minor-leaguers. This is their chance to play in the National Hockey League and establish credibility here. It's a chance of a lifetime for a lot of people."
IN THE BOX
Avery was whistled in the third period for a high-sticking penalty and spent two minutes in the penalty box. He has 218 penalty minutes, tops in the NHL.
HELPING OUT
Tomas Zizka picked up his first NHL assist when he helped out on Robitaille's goal in the first period.
Zizka's first NHL goal came on the Kings' recent trip when he scored against Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils.