LOS ANGELES_Being a man down turned out to be the best thing to happen to the Los Angeles Kings.
It was quite a twist to a Kings' season gone wrong, but they'll take any approach that leads them out of this abyss.
After having their momentum crushed by Zach Werenski's goal 29 seconds into the third period Saturday, the Kings came back against the Columbus Blue Jackets with a shorthanded goal by Anze Kopitar and a penalty shot score by Dustin Brown.
A 4-1 win at Staples Center breathed new life into the Kings, who woke up Saturday as the NHL's worst team, with seven points, and a disturbing 44 goals allowed, including 37 in the previous eight contests. But they might have staved off an impending shakeup and, in the meantime, exhaled after a hard-earned win that they desperately needed.
Brown and Kopitar sparked it with a shorthanded rush that resulted in Kopitar's second-chance goal at 7:44 of the third period. Almost a minute later, Brown was hooked on a shorthanded breakaway and beat goalie Sergei Bobrovsky between the pass on the ensuing penalty shot.
The Kings didn't play perfect, but they got a good start and didn't fall apart. It was monumental that they ended their streak of getting scored on in 24 consecutive periods in the opening 20 minutes, and they also got goals by Jeff Carter, Alex Iafallo and another strong game by goalie Jack Campbell.
Coach John Stevens has often mentioned Ilya Kovalchuk's underrated passing ability, and Kovalchuk laid out an example with a beautiful cross-ice pass to Carter for a power-play goal in the second period. Kovalchuk found Carter on the left side, and Carter had time to gather and wrist the puck past the blocker side of goalie Bobrovsky for a 2-0 lead.
Columbus had largely dominated the period leading up to that, with an 8-1 shot advantage in the opening minutes. Among Campbell's saves were glove catch on Alexander Wennberg and a stop on Riley Nash. Campbell also helped his team kill three penalties in the first half of the game, two by Jake Muzzin.
Despite Carter's hooking penalty on the first shift of the game, the Kings' turned in their best opening period during this spell and got the game's first goal since their Oct.11 win against the Montreal Canadiens.
Iafallo turned toward the goal and his shot banked through Bobrovsky during a delayed penalty.
It was his first goal since game No.2, and it was probably fitting because Iafallo has been one of their more consistent forwards this season.
Matt Luff became the fifth Kings player to make his NHL debut this season as the Kings continue to get their prospects' feet wet. He was the Ontario Reign's leading scorer with six goals and 12 points in eight games, and he gives the Kings a natural right wing. An undrafted free agent signing, Luff was aligned Saturday on the right side with Adrian Kempe and Tanner Pearson for his first game.
"You dream about it as a kid, and to finally have it happen was a dream come true, so I got on the phone and called my parents right away," Luff said in the morning.
Michael Amadio was also recalled but was scratched, while Austin Wagner and Sean Walker were re-assigned. Paul LaDue participated in the morning skate but doesn't appear ready to return from an upper-body injury.
