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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- If Patrick Roy was having one of his rare off
days, the Los Angeles Kings weren't buying it.
|  | | Mattias Norstrom (left) and the L.A. Kings are on their longest unbeaten streak since 1992-93, when they went to the Stanley Cup finals. |
Luc Robitaille had two goals and two assists, and Ziggy Palffy
also scored twice and assisted on another as the Los Angeles Kings
extended their unbeaten streak to eight games (6-0-2) with a 6-4
victory Saturday over the Colorado Avalanche.
"I don't think he struggled. I just think they were good
goals," Robitaille said. "I don't think he gave up any weak
goals. It was just one of those games where the puck went in for
us. He's still a great goalie."
Rookie Lubomir Visnovsky had a goal and two assists and Nelson
Emerson added an empty-net goal for the Kings, on their longest
unbeaten streak since they went 8-0 in 1992-93 en route to the
Stanley Cup finals.
Roy gave up four goals on seven shots in the second period. He
had not surrendered more than four goals in any of his other 15
starts this season.
Ville Nieminen, Jon Klemm, Alex Tanguay and Aaron Miller scored
for the Avalanche, who have lost two in a row following a six-game
unbeaten streak. They squandered an early 3-1 lead and surrendered
three goals on four short-handed situations despite outshooting the
Kings 47-22.
"We had a little bit of a letdown in the second period,"
Colorado defenseman Adam Foote said. "They got lucky on their
penalty-kill when we were all over them, and they got a couple of
goals on their power play. Then we took it to them in the third
period."
Miller tied it at 4 with an unassisted goal, intercepting a
back-handed clearing pass by Visnovsky and taking a slap shot from
the top of the right circle that broke off goalie Jamie Storr's
right leg with 1:36 left in the second.
But the Kings regained the lead on a power play. Palffy
one-timed Visnovsky's pass and beat Roy to the glove side from the
middle of the right circle with 22 seconds left in the second.
"Patrick didn't play bad," Storr said. "Those were great
plays and great shots we made, and we deserved everything we got.
We battled hard, and it just shows how this team can play under
adversity -- coming back from 3-1 down against a team like this and
the best goaltender in the world."
Visnovsky triggered the Kings' comeback at 4:18.
He began the day with 10 points and a plus-15 rating, making him
the only player in the league with at least 10 points and a
plus-minus rating that is higher than his point total.
"He's been playing unbelievably for us. He's the biggest
surprise this year," Robitaille said. "I mean, we had heard about
him coming into camp, but this kid's come in and played with a lot
of poise. He's carrying the puck and he's getting it out of our
zone every time. He's been a force for us and it's a lot of fun to
see."
Los Angeles took a 4-3 lead with power-play goals 22 seconds
apart by Robitaille and Palffy.
"When the refs are calling the game the way they did, it's
going to come down to who gets the most on their specialty teams,"
Foote said. "They ended up getting a little bit more out of it
than we did, and that was the game."
Palffy, who set up Robitaille in front for his second goal and
10th of the season 16 seconds into a two-man advantage, scored his
10th goal eight minutes into the period after Roy left a bad
rebound on Rob Blake's slap shot.
"It was really important that we got a goal on the 5-on-3. I
wanted to stick it right back to them," Robitaille said. "It was
a great play by Ziggy. I saw him coming and I just knew if I put my
stick on the ice, he'd put the puck on it."
Kings right wing Glen Murray left with a strained right knee
after Martin Skoula hooked him behind the Colorado net with 1½ minutes left in the first period. No penalty was called.
Game notes
Los Angeles' Jaroslav Modry played in place of Mathieu
Schneider, who missed his first game this season because of a
strained lower back. It was Modry's 200th NHL game. ... Saturday
marked the first of four hockey-basketball doubleheaders this
season at Staples Center -- with each one having the Kings in the
matinee and the Clippers in the nightcap. The NBA champion Lakers
have the building all to themselves for their 41 home dates. ...
Storr, whose 13th consecutive start represented a career-high,
surrendered more than two goals for only the second time in eight
starts. ... Tanguay's goal extended his point-scoring streak to
nine games, but Joe Sakic's point streak ended at eight.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Colorado Clubhouse
Los Angeles Clubhouse
RECAPS
New Jersey 3
Carolina 2
Los Angeles 6
Colorado 4
Minnesota 6
Boston 1
Toronto 6
Montreal 1
Ottawa 5
Florida 2
Philadelphia 5
Washington 3
Pittsburgh 3
Atlanta 1
Nashville 3
Detroit 2
St. Louis 4
Buffalo 1
Anaheim 6
Phoenix 2
NY Rangers 5
Calgary 4
San Jose 5
NY Islanders 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Colorado's Alex Tanguay battles for a power-play goal.
avi: 631 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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