Kings use special effects in 3-1 win over Edmonton

Reporting from Edmonton, Canada — Pity the poor Edmonton Oilers.

Not only is the once-proud franchise buried deep in the Western Conference cellar, but it’s on pace for its worst full-season record. And as if that wasn’t enough, Wednesday they lost a game when a former teammate, Ryan Smyth, was credited with goals on two plays in which he said he never touched the puck.

The result was a 3-1 victory by the Kings that kept them in the thick of the conference playoff chase. Which is why no one in the Kings’ dressing room seemed to care how the puck got into the net, as long it got there.

“He told me he didn’t touch it either. But whatever,” said defenseman Drew Doughty, who took the big slap shots that Smyth was alledged to have tipped in. “It doesn’t matter to me.”

Added Smyth: “I didn’t get the goals. He got the goals. It’s just nice to get the win.”

What’s not in dispute is that both goals came on power plays. The Kings started the game one for 28 on the power play in their previous 10 games, scoring two goals or less seven times over that span.

“When you’re slacking a little bit in the power-play area you’ve got to get back to basics,” said Smyth, who played his first 12 seasons in Edmonton. “And that’s getting the puck to the net.”

And that’s exactly what Doughty did.

The first time just after an unguarded Magnus Paajarvi gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead, taking a deft pass from Sam Gagner just to the right of the net and driving it past goalie Jonathan Quick.

Seconds after Dustin Penner went to the box for elbowing, the Kings got the equalizer with Doughty taking a pass from Jack Johnson at the top of the left faceoff circle and blasting a one-timer toward the net, where Smyth and goalie Nikolai Khabibulin each reached for the puck and missed.

Six minutes later, after Theo Peckham was sent off for holding, the Kings ran the same play with the same result — Smyth and Khabibulin each waving at another Doughty rocket from the top of the circle.

And the power play wasn’t the only special team that was, well, special for the Kings on Wednesday. The team also killed six penalties, including three in the first period.

Johnson added an unassisted goal at 14 minutes 52 seconds of the final period to give the weary Kings, playing their second game in as many nights, some much-needed breathing room.

“The guys dug in,” Coach Terry Murray said. “I really liked our third period. You’ve got a one-goal lead going in at a crucial time and you have to dig in and do things the right way. Everything really matters at that time.”

Including the standings, which show the Kings tied, in points, for the conference’s final playoff spot.

“Where we’re at in the season, every game’s a new challenge,” captain Dustin Brown said. “We’re in that situation where we can’t sit there and dwell on past games. We have to keep on just focusing on that [next] game.”

kevin.baxter@latimes.com