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LOS ANGELES (AP) – The growing trend in the NHL is for skill players to kill penalties. That is why Ziggy Palffy is out there when the Los Angeles Kings are short-handed.
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Palffy scored the first of his two goals while killing a
penalty, and Felix Potvin made 27 saves for his 19th career shutout
as the Kings beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 Thursday night.
"When you're killing penalties, and you have your skill guys
out there, there's a good chance they're going to score," Columbus
defenseman Deron Quint said. "So you've got to be on your toes.
You've really got to think defense sometimes, even when you're on
the power play."
The Kings, who entered with the league's fifth-worst
penalty-killing unit, opened the scoring with their 13th
short-handed goal after Stu Grimson was sent off for boarding
rookie Bill Bowler.
"They have to beware of everybody out there, because a puck can
jump over a stick and you can get a 2-on-1. So it's really fun,"
said Palffy, who was added to the penalty-killing unit late last
month by coach Andy Murray. "But you still have to think more
about playing defensively first."
Palffy was sent on a breakaway by Jere Karalahti and converted
his own rebound at 3:12 of the first period after getting behind
Quint and Jamie Heward. It was Palffy's third short-handed goal in
132 games since he and Bryan Smolinski joined the Kings in a June
1999 trade from the New York Islanders.
"I was kind of behind him and I was going to dive at him, but I saw him stick his leg out, so I just tried to poke at his stick," Quint said. "He's a strong player and he made a good play."
Smolinski also scored on a breakaway, helping the Kings move
within one point of the Phoenix Coyotes in the race for the final
Western Conference playoff shot with five games remaining.
The Blue Jackets, missing five regulars because of injuries and
playing seven rookies including goalie Marc Denis, were no match
for a desperate Kings squad that had gone four games without a win
and was shut out twice at home -- including a scoreless tie against
San Jose.
Potvin, coming off a tough loss at San Jose in which he
surrendered the tying goal with about three minutes left in
regulation and the game-winner in overtime, tied a career best with
his fifth shutout this season. It was his fourth shutout in 18
starts since joining the Kings in a Feb. 15 trade with Vancouver.
"This is do-or-die for us, so it was important that we played
well -- especially against a team like that," Potvin said. "They
had nothing to lose and a lot of guys are playing for their jobs,
which makes them the most dangerous kind of team. They came pretty
hard at us, but we were fortunate to get three goals in the
first."
The expansion Blue Jackets, beaten 3-0 Tuesday night at Calgary,
have been shut out in consecutive games after going 38 games
without being blanked.
Smolinski and Palffy scored 29 seconds apart to increase the
lead to 3-0 at 16:15. Smolinski's 27th goal came after a
sensational touch-pass by Luc Robitaille, who left the puck flat in
the neutral zone for the charging Smolinski with Lyle Odelein coming up behind Robitaille.
"That was nice," teammate Ian Laperriere said. "Luc saw Smolinski coming down the middle with speed and he just tipped that one to him. That's confidence, and that's what we need right now. Bryan is playing great right now for us."
Palffy followed with his 34th goal, beating an out-of-position
Denis from the right of the crease after Jaroslav Modry's long
wrist shot caromed off the end boards.
Game notes
The last time the teams met Feb. 24 at Staples Center, the
Kings beat Columbus 3-1 with two goals by Palffy and one by
Smolinski. ... Potvin had five shutouts in 1997-98 with Toronto.
... Of Potvin's four shutouts with the Kings, this was the first
one in which he had to stop at least 20 shots. ... Palffy has 12
career short-handed goals. ... Five of Columbus' six shutout losses
have come on the road.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Columbus Clubhouse
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RECAPS
NY Rangers 6
NY Islanders 4
Toronto 2
Philadelphia 1
Pittsburgh 5
Chicago 2
Montreal 6
Tampa Bay 2
Nashville 4
Phoenix 3
Colorado 1
Calgary 0
Los Angeles 3
Columbus 0
San Jose 7
Anaheim 4
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