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BOX SCORE
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Daniel Corso provided instant offense
Saturday night for a St. Louis Blues squad that was missing its top
two scorers.
Corso recorded his second goal in as many NHL games, set up the
go-ahead goal and won a faceoff that led to an insurance goal as
the Blues beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 on Saturday night.
The 5-foot-9 center, a seventh-round draft pick by the Blues in
1996, was promoted from their Worcester farm club of the AHL for
the second time on Friday because of Pierre Turgeon's concussion
and Pavol Demitra's eye injury. In his only other NHL game, on Dec.
5 against Anaheim, Corso had a goal and an assist.
"It's unbelievable. He gets called up twice, gets a goal in his
first game and then a goal and two assists in another. He's just on
fire," Blues goalie Brent Johnson said. "I've always known he's a
good player, but for him to come up and light it up up here, it's
just great. Hopefully, we can keep him up for a while and see what
he can do."
Scott Young and Chris Pronger scored power-play goals, Tyson
Nash also scored and Johnson made 19 saves, helping the Blues climb
back within a point of idle Colorado for the NHL's best record
after losing four of their previous six.
Lubos Bartecko returned to the lineup after missing 17 games
because of a sprained ankle and assisted on the game's first goal.
Storr stopped Bartecko's wraparound attempt, but the rebound hit
the skate of Kings defenseman Jaroslav Modry and Corso flipped the
puck over Storr.
Corso's goal came just seconds after the sellout crowd at
Staples Center felt a magnitude 4.1 aftershock from a magnitude 4.3
earthquake that was centered 12 miles north of the downtown arena.
"It's great to play in the NHL and a dream come true. I'm just
trying to do the same things the other guys are doing up here _
work hard and have fun," Corso said. "I see the ice well and I'm
a hard worker. I'm not scared to go into the corners and get hit. I
just try to use my speed to try and create plays."
Jozef Stumpel and Glen Murray scored power-play goals and Luc
Robitaille had two assists, including his 1,200th NHL point. But
the Kings lost for the ninth time in 13 games and squandered a
chance to move ahead of idle Edmonton for the final playoff seed in
the Western Conference.
Nash barely avoided colliding with Jamie Storr as the Kings
goalie smothered a shot with 7.1 seconds left in the first period.
But Nash's skates sent a stream of ice chips into Storr's face, and
Stumpel retaliated by dropping the Blues' left wing with a forearm
to the back.
But Nash, who has the second-most penalty minutes on the Blues,
wisely skated away without earning a penalty and scored at 1:02 of
the second period to give St. Louis a 2-1 lead. His eighth goal
came after Corso threaded a cross-ice pass through defenseman
Mathieu Schneider.
Young's 20th goal made it 3-1 at 13:04 of the second, while Ian
Laperriere of the Kings was serving a double minor for drawing
blood with a high stick to the right eye of Al MacInnis.
In a matchup of the league's best penalty-killing unit and
second-best power play, the Kings scored just 15 seconds after
getting the man advantage for the first time. Stumpel put a wrist
shot over Johnson's glove to tie it 1-1.
Game notes
Bartecko left after re-injuring his ankle in the second
period and did not return. ... Kings D Rob Blake has blocked 112
shots and taken 180 at the other end of the rink. Pronger, a fellow
Norris Trophy winner, has taken 93 shots and blocked 65 for the
Blues. But Pronger has been playing better two-way hockey compared
to Blake, who has a plus-minus rating of minus-5 compared to
Pronger's plus-17. ... One reason the Blues have a better
penalty-killing percentage than any team in the NHL is because
they've had more practice at it. They also lead the league in
penalty minutes per game. ... The Blues won the season series
2-1-1. The last time the Kings had the upper hand was 1992-93
(2-1-0). ... St. Louis is 7-0-1 in its last eight road games
against the Kings, including a 4-4 tie on Oct. 11 when the Blues
rallied from a 4-0 deficit.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
St. Louis Clubhouse
Los Angeles Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 4
NY Rangers 1
Montreal 5
Phoenix 2
Toronto 4
New Jersey 4
NY Islanders 6
Pittsburgh 5
Washington 4
Atlanta 1
Philadelphia 4
Florida 1
St. Louis 4
Los Angeles 2
Ottawa 5
Calgary 2
Nashville 5
San Jose 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Fresh from the penalty box, Daniel Corso sets up Tyson Nash for a St. Louis goal.
avi: 1030 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
A great second effort by Glen Murray gets the Kings within one.
avi: 1740 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Chris Pronger wrists one past Jamie Storr to seal it for the Blues.
avi: 923 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Scott Young's power-play goal gives the Blues a 2-point advantage.
avi: 1640 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
A wide-open Jozef Stumpel beats Brent Johnson to put the Kings on the board.
avi: 1080 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
The Blues' Daniel Corso squeezes the puck past the pile and into the net.
avi: 1280 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Daniel Corso talks with the National Hockey Night crew after the Blues' victory over L.A.
wav: 775 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Chris Pronger Official Site
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