Saturday, Apr. 7 9:00pm ET
Kings unbeaten in last nine games
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CALGARY, Alberta (AP) – It's not a streak of the same magnitude
as, say, the Dallas Stars, but the Los Angeles Kings finished off
their regular season on a roll, too.
Glen Murray scored the go-ahead goal with 4:09 left in the third
period as the Kings came from behind for to defeat the Calgary
Flames 3-2 on Saturday night.
Los Angeles, which finished seventh in the Western Conference
after Edmonton later beat Vancouver 4-2, will meet the Detroit Red
Wings in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
The Kings finished the regular season by picking up at least one
point in each of its final nine games (4-0-3-2).
"Last year, we were playing the worst hockey of the year when
we went in the playoffs," said Murray. "This year, we've been on
a roll and we just want to keep it going and be prepared."
On the winning goal, Murray took a pass from Luc Robitaille and
from the top of the faceoff circle ripped a slap shot past
goaltender Fred Brathwaite on the blocker side.
Zigmund Palffy and Adam Deadmarsh also scored for Los Angeles
(38-28-13-3).
Oleg Saprykin and Valeri Bure replied for Calgary (27-36-15-4).
Felix Potvin made 31 saves in his 23rd consecutive start in goal
for Los Angeles as he continued to show the form that made him the
centerpiece of the Kings' resurrection over the last six weeks.
"Obviously, Felix has played great, but the players have really
battled," said Murray. "I think we were seven points back at that
time and we knew we were in a battle just to make the playoffs."
In the third period, Potvin displayed the quick reflexes that
earned him the nickname of The Cat. He made 17 saves over the final
20 minutes, including key stops on Valeri Bure, Marc Savard and
Phil Housley.
"It's nice to finish with a win so you don't have a loss
sitting on your mind over the next five days," said Potvin.
A couple of the Kings were asked their thoughts about playing
the Red Wings.
"They're the favorite for sure, but we know we beat them the
last time we played them," said Potvin. "But you can't read too
much into that and we just have to focus on game No. 1."
Murray added, "We know they're on a roll, too. We've just got
to go in there and play patient. We know what kind of team they
have. We can't afford to make a bunch of mistakes or they'll
capitalize. Special teams and goaltending obviously will be key,
too."
Trailing 2-1 entering the third period, the Kings tied the game
after only 37 seconds on Deadmarsh's goal.
Calgary took a 2-1 lead in the final minute of the second period
when Bure backhanded in a rebound after Potvin had stopped a
slap shot by Derek Morris.
"Obviously, it's a disappointing outcome, but I thought we had
a pretty good effort considering those guys are going to the
playoffs and we're not," said Brathwaite.
Calgary missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
"It's frustrating and disappointing," Brathwaite said. "I
thought this year we would turn things around, but the start we had
killed us again."
The Flames won just five of their first 26 games.
Los Angeles opened the scoring at 6:22 when Palffy scored on a
power-play, but Calgary tied it later in the period when Saprykin
intercepted a pass from Lubomir Visnovsky and scored on a neat move
from in-close.
The Kings got a scare in the second period when Visnovsky had to
be taken off the ice on a stretcher with a bruised knee when
slashed by center Clarke Wilm.
The 24-year-old Slovak defenseman was fourth in scoring among
NHL rookies (seven goals, 32 assists) and second in plus-minus
(+17).
In the second period, Flames defenseman Denis Gauthier chopped
the ankle of Palffy during a breakaway, sending him crashing into
the goal post. Although he appeared slightly shaken, Palffy took
the penalty shot but hit the side of the net with his shot after he
deked Brathwaite.
Game notes
The last King to score on a penalty shot was Dan Quinn on
March 21, 1995. ... Calgary finishes with its worst record on home
ice (12-18-9-2).
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NHL Scoreboard
Los Angeles Clubhouse
Calgary Clubhouse
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Detroit 4
Colorado 3
Florida 3
NY Rangers 0
Philadelphia 4
Pittsburgh 3
Dallas 5
San Jose 4
Boston 4
NY Islanders 2
New Jersey 2
Montreal 0
Ottawa 5
Toronto 3
St. Louis 1
Nashville 0
Los Angeles 3
Calgary 2
Edmonton 4
Vancouver 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Fred Brathwaite stops the puck with his face mask, but Zigmund Palffy scores on the rebound.
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