ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Petr Kanko felt enough pressure in his

NHL debut without being asked to replace slumping forward Luc

Robitaille, who was benched.

Kanko made the most of his opportunity by scoring the tying goal

in the third period and setting the stage for the Los Angeles

Kings' 4-3 shootout victory over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks on Friday

night.

"I think we can all remember how we felt in our first NHL

game," Kings captain Mattias Norstrom said. "He was in the lineup

tonight and he played a solid game all around, but I don't think

you can look at it like Petr is taking Luc's spot."

The 21-year-old left winger was recalled Friday from Manchester

of the AHL and played only 11 shifts on the Kings' fourth line --

totaling 5:14 of ice time. But he had enough time to score with

14:34 left in regulation.

Anaheim defenseman Keith Carney fell down and lost the puck

behind his own net. Kanko worked it away from defenseman Joe

DiPenta and threw it out in front of the net where it banked in off

Carney's skate.

"It was just a lucky bounce, and it went in," Kanko said.

"I'm glad I got my first game behind me, and I'm excited and proud

to be here. I'm just going to try and play my best and play every

shift harder and harder."

Kanko was born two years and eight months before Robitaille's

NHL debut. He got the news of his promotion from his roommate after

he was awakened from an afternoon nap.

Robitaille, three goals shy of Marcel Dionne's franchise record

of 550, was scratched after being limited to 5:10 of ice time in

Wednesday's 3-2 home loss to Washington. He had just one point in

his previous 12 games.

"It's just a matchup situation where we maybe needed a

different type of player in the game tonight," coach Andy Murray

said. "I think it's been tough for all the older players who

didn't play last year, and we've got some younger guys who are

playing ahead of him right now. Sometimes it gets to that point in

your career.

"I'd like nothing better than for Luc to be in the lineup, but

we need him to play better. We've just got to get him back on

track. I'm sure he's been pressing a little bit, but he's going to

help us before the year's out."

Derek Armstrong and Dustin Brown scored power-play goals in the

first period for the Kings, who have won eight straight overtime

games against the Ducks.

Pavol Demitra and Alexander Frolov scored the only goals in the

shootout. Mathieu Garon made 42 saves and stopped Teemu Selanne and

Scott Niedermayer in the NHL's new tiebreaker -- the first between

the Southern California rivals.

Joffrey Lupul had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who also

got goals from Todd Marchant and Petr Sykora. Jean-Sebastien

Giguere stopped 34 shots, including a breakaway by Demitra with 33

seconds left in the third period. But Demitra put a different move

on Giguere in the shootout.

"A shootout is a totally different situation," Demitra said.

"In the game, you have to go fast. But in a shootout, I can decide

what speed I want to go, and you don't have to worry about anybody

checking behind you. This was the move I use in a shootout, and so

far, it's working."

Lupul snapped a 2-2 tie at 9:14 of the second period with his

13th goal, scored during a power play.

The Ducks were outshot 15-4 over the first 17 minutes and

trailed 2-0. They got back in the game just 17 seconds before the

first intermission as Sykora beat Garon between the pads with a

one-timer from the low slot after a setup by Andy McDonald. The

goal came two seconds after the Kings killed off a delay-of-game

penalty against Craig Conroy.

Marchant tied it on Anaheim's first shot of the second period at

1:50. It was the second goal in two games for Marchant, who went 10

games without one after being claimed off waivers from Columbus.Game notes
Robitaille also scored in his NHL debut, on Oct. 9, 1986,

against St. Louis. ... The Ducks, who led the league with a 91.7

percentage on the penalty kill in November, have allowed nine goals

in 37 short-handed situations during their first seven December

games. ... Selanne left the ice with 9:34 remaining in the second

period after Eric Belanger's stick clipped him from behind and left

a deep gash below his right eye. ... The Ducks were blanked in the

third period for the first time in nine home games.