KIDWCKED
01-05-2010, 03:28 PM
c\p from espn
Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Drew Doughty had a career-best four assists and in the tightly bunched Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings showed again they weren't going anywhere.
Six players scored in the Kings' 6-2 victory Monday night that snapped the San Jose Sharks' eight-game winning streak.
Michal Handzus, Oscar Moller, Anze Kopitar and Ryan Smyth each scored a goal with Doughty's help. Wayne Simmonds and Scott Parse also scored for the Kings, who won their third straight and jumped over the Vancouver Canucks to find themselves two points out of fourth playoff spot by improving 3-0-1 against the Sharks this season.
"It was a pretty big game," Doughty said. "We were sitting in the eighth spot and if we lost this game we might have been out of the playoff spot. But we moved up instead. It was very important. We were really focused before the game and were determined to get a win."
The defenseman was named to Team Canada last week and is expected to be a big part of their effort in the next month in Vancouver.
"He didn't make the Olympics for nothing," Kopitar said. "He's showing out there. He's making plays and playing with a lot of confidence and having a lot of fun."
Patrick Marleau scored his 27th goal, tying New York Rangers' Marian Gaborik for the league lead. Douglas Murray also scored for the Sharks.
"We were a little off in a lot of areas tonight," Marleau said. "We made some mistakes on penalty kill, taking penalties and they exploited it. Our game was slipping a little bit and that was a wake up call."
Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Drew Doughty had a career-best four assists and in the tightly bunched Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings showed again they weren't going anywhere.
Six players scored in the Kings' 6-2 victory Monday night that snapped the San Jose Sharks' eight-game winning streak.
Michal Handzus, Oscar Moller, Anze Kopitar and Ryan Smyth each scored a goal with Doughty's help. Wayne Simmonds and Scott Parse also scored for the Kings, who won their third straight and jumped over the Vancouver Canucks to find themselves two points out of fourth playoff spot by improving 3-0-1 against the Sharks this season.
"It was a pretty big game," Doughty said. "We were sitting in the eighth spot and if we lost this game we might have been out of the playoff spot. But we moved up instead. It was very important. We were really focused before the game and were determined to get a win."
The defenseman was named to Team Canada last week and is expected to be a big part of their effort in the next month in Vancouver.
"He didn't make the Olympics for nothing," Kopitar said. "He's showing out there. He's making plays and playing with a lot of confidence and having a lot of fun."
Patrick Marleau scored his 27th goal, tying New York Rangers' Marian Gaborik for the league lead. Douglas Murray also scored for the Sharks.
"We were a little off in a lot of areas tonight," Marleau said. "We made some mistakes on penalty kill, taking penalties and they exploited it. Our game was slipping a little bit and that was a wake up call."