Kings No Longer on the Bottom

Jeff Shevalier and Roman Vopat may have played only 20 games combined for the Kings this season, but their goals are the reason the Kings are no longer tied for the worst record in the NHL.

Shevalier scored twice and Vopat added the game-winner for the Kings in a 3-1 victory over the Mighty Ducks Thursday night before 12,184 at the Forum.

With the victory, the Kings not only ended a seven-game winless streak but also moved ahead of Toronto in the battle for last place in the NHL with 48 points. The Maple Leafs, who were idle, have 46.

King goaltender Stephane Fiset stopped 27 of 28 shots to win his ninth game of the season. Anaheim goalie Guy Hebert stopped 25 shots and dropped to 19-22-6.

“I thought our defense handled them pretty well,” King Coach Larry Robinson said of the Ducks’ high-scoring tandem of Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne. “We have to play physical. We aren’t a physical team, but we have to run into people and eliminate our checks. That just seems to make us play better.”

The Kings took a 2-1 lead into the third period and were able to hold off the Ducks in a fight-dominated period, which included a brawl that resulted in 82 combined penalty minutes and the ejections of the Ducks’ Peter LeBoutillier and Warren Rychel and the Kings’ Matt Johnson.

Shevalier, who has played 11 games with the Kings, put the game away with a goal at 13:10 in the period when he knocked in a rebound of a long-distance shot by Eddie Olczyk.

“[Robinson] has given me the job of going to the net, and playing with guys like [Olczyk] and [Kevin] Stevens makes it a lot easier for me to stay in the lineup and to keep producing,” said Shevalier, who had 15 goals in 44 games playing for Phoenix of the International Hockey League.

When the teams last met in late January, the Kings rallied for a 2-2 tie to end a two-game losing streak. Since then, however, they have struggled to stay in the playoff race in going 2-8-2 in their last 12 games before Thursday night.

“We didn’t respond, we didn’t seem to have drive, energy or leadership,” Anaheim Coach Ron Wilson said. “For the Kings, this might represent their last shot. They played desperate, which is how we’ve got to play.”

The Ducks, who fell further behind in the playoff race because both Vancouver and Chicago won Thursday, are 8-18-4 on the road this season, including losses in six of their last seven games away from the Pond.

“You can tell the intensity was there tonight,” said Olczyk of the Kings’ first victory over the Ducks since Jan. 27, 1996. “It’s good for the game and it’s good for the city. Hopefully, people enjoyed the game because we certainly enjoyed the outcome.”

After a scoreless first period, which featured 12 penalties, the Ducks finally broke through with a goal in the second period when Selanne avoided a collision with the Kings’ Ian Laperriere at the blue line and passed to Garry Valk, who beat Fiset from just under the left circle at 13:34.

The Ducks’ lead did not last long, however, as the Kings quickly responded with a skillful goal by Shevalier 52 seconds later. From the left side of the goal, Shevalier faked Hebert and then skated around the net and beat Duck forward Jari Kurri to score on a wraparound at 14:26 to tie the score, 1-1.

With 20.5 seconds remaining in the period, Vopat scored his first goal of the season on a slap shot inside the left side of the blue line. Hebert was screened on the play by Duck defenseman Darren Van Impe as the Kings took a 2-1 lead into the third.

“The last couple of games, I had a lot of chances to score,” said Vopat, who scored his only other NHL goal last season with St. Louis. “The guys talked to me and told me to keep working hard.”

Things got testy early into the final period when the Kings’ Johnson was called for roughing on the Ducks’ Daniel Trebil. In retaliation, LeBoutillier charged Johnson and a five-minute brawl began.

The fight seemed to work in the Kings’ favor as they limited the Ducks to only six shots on goal in the third period.