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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- For someone who has declined to accept the
captaincy of his team, Luc Robitaille was every bit the leader the
Los Angeles Kings have been looking for since trading Rob Blake.
|  | | Kris Draper of the Red Wings, left, is hounded by the Eric Berlanger of the Kings during L.A.'s 6-3 win. |
Robitaille had two power-play goals and an assist in the Kings'
6-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. And he
brawled twice with Detroit's Chris Chelios.
"I was suckered the first time," Robitaille said. "I wasn't
ready, so I was a little upset the second time. But Chris plays
hard every night. That's why he's a team leader and an All-Star."
Chelios and Robitaille were the main event during a nasty second
period in which 74 minutes in penalties were called by referees
Shane Heyer and Don Koharski.
"There was some emotion and energy in the game," Kings coach
Andy Murray said. "Certainly, Detroit is a great team and there
are a lot of great characters on that club. To beat them, you've
got to stand up to them. Luc was just protecting his turf out
there."
Robitaille's actions were completely out of character for the
15-year veteran left wing, who had not had a fighting major since
April 16, 1998.
"I didn't even know he had a fight before tonight," said
Detroit's Steve Duchesne, a teammate of Robitaille's for six
seasons in Los Angeles. "It'll probably take another three years
before he gets into another one."
Jozef Stumpel had a power-play goal and three assists for Los
Angeles. Adam Deadmarsh, Glen Murray and Nelson Emerson scored in a
6:27 span of the first period, helping the Kings improve their
record to 4-0-1 since sending Blake and Steve Reinprecht to
Colorado on Feb. 21 for Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller.
Tomas Holmstrom had two goals and an assist and Steve Yzerman
also scored for the Red Wings, who could have tied Colorado for the
most points in the overall league standings with a victory.
"We're all desperate," Yzerman said. "Some teams are playing
for a playoff spot, but other teams are playing for home-ice
advantage."
The Red Wings, who allowed more than three goals only once in
their previous 27 games, fell behind 6-1 after Holmstrom
capitalized on a fanned clearing pass by Kelly Buchberger in the
Kings' own zone to open the scoring at 4:12 of the first period.
Stumpel and Robitaille scored 48 seconds apart during 5-on-3
power plays to chase Chris Osgood to the bench after he surrendered
six goals on 21 shots. Detroit's Martin Lapointe earned a 10-minute
misconduct and game misconduct following the back-to-back 5-on-3
goals.
"We started the game pretty well, but as soon as they scored
the first one, we seemed to lose our composure and we fell apart
from there," Yzerman said. "Their power play looked awesome, and
we weren't able to survive it."
Osgood, 8-0-2 in his previous 10 decisions, absorbed his -- and
Detroit's -- first loss since Jan. 30 at New Jersey after sitting
out back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 22-23.
In his previous start, Osgood surrendered three first-period
goals to St. Louis and watched backup Manny Legace shut out the
Blues through the final two periods in a 6-3 victory.
"Every time something happens like this, it gets
over-exaggerated," Osgood said. "I mean, you play so many games
and we've been playing so well lately, something like this was
bound to happen sooner or later to us -- and to me. A goalie can't
do everything."
Game notes
Stumpel won two faceoffs that resulted in the tying and
go-ahead goals for Los Angeles. ... Detroit D Larry Murphy, who
turns 40 on Thursday, returned to the lineup after missing four
games because of a bone spur in his right heel. ... Deadmarsh
redirected Mattias Norstrom's 35-foot slap shot between Osgood's
pads for his 14th goal and first in four games with the Kings. ...
The six goals by Los Angeles equaled a season-high allowed by the
Red Wings, who did it three other times. ... The standing-room-only
crowd of 18,477 -- 359 over Staples Center's capacity -- was the
largest ever to attend an NHL game in the state of California.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Los Angeles Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 3
San Jose 2
Buffalo 3
Colorado 2
Florida 2
Atlanta 2
Montreal 3
Philadelphia 1
Tampa Bay 6
NY Islanders 0
Ottawa 3
Toronto 2
Washington 4
Pittsburgh 3
Calgary 3
St. Louis 2
Los Angeles 6
Detroit 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jozef Stumpel and Luc Robitaille put the game out of reach with back-to-back power-play goals.
avi: 1460 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Steve Yzerman gets the loose puck and knocks it past Felix Potvin.
avi: 1840 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jozef Stumpel sets up Luc Robitaille for his first power-play goal of the game.
avi: 862 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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