McKenna Goal Nets a 2-2 Tie for Kings

One of the Kings’ most unlikely goal scorers, Steve McKenna, helped the team end a four-game losing streak Saturday night with a late third-period score in a 2-2 tie with the Washington Capitals.

With goaltender Stephane Fiset pulled, McKenna took the ice as an extra skater and scored his second goal of the season with 28.6 seconds remaining in regulation before an announced crowd of 12,940 at the Forum.

McKenna’s goal helped the Kings complete a comeback from a two-goal first-period deficit and end their longest losing streak of the season.

Vladimir Tsyplakov scored the Kings’ other goal and Fiset made 34 saves against Washington, which lost to the Mighty Ducks, 6-4, on Friday.

“We really needed this game, it was a big one for us,” McKenna said. “We’d been in a little bit of a rut.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I was as surprised as everyone in the stands in going in there as the extra attacker. I just went hard to the net like [King Coach Larry Robinson] wanted.”

Robinson tried to give his team a boost by moving a couple of the team’s top scorers around. He broke up his top two lines by moving Luc Robitaille to join Yanic Perreault and Tsyplakov. Glen Murray, who had played with Perreault and Tsyplakov, was teamed with Nathan LaFayette and McKenna on the checking line.

“We have to get back to the basics,” Robinson said before the game. “Play good solid defense with everybody knowing what their jobs are in our zone. When we execute, [we should] execute at top speed instead of running around all over the place . . . and not getting any pressure on the puck.”

The Kings started off aggressively. Their forechecking led to two early penalties on the Capitals, who entered the game as the 12th-rated penalty-killers in the league.

The Kings’ power play, however, continued to come up empty, going scoreless in their three man advantages in the game. The Kings have only one goal in their last 37 power-play opportunities.

Washington did not mount too much offense for most of the first period as the Kings recorded six of the first seven shots on goal. But the Capitals responded late in the period to take a 2-0 lead going into the second period.

Washington’s top two scorers, Peter Bondra and Adam Oates, were involved in the first score after the Kings were caught too deep in their offensive zone. Sergei Gonchar scored from the slot with 2:32 remaining in the period after assists from Oates and Bondra.

The Capitals made it 2-0 76 seconds later when defenseman Joe Reekie skated down a loose puck in the King defensive zone and whacked the puck past Fiset and under the crossbar.

For the first half of the second period, the Kings’ listless play continued, but they picked up their attack over the final eight minutes of the period after Robinson made additional line changes.

Tsyplakov, who has five goals in his last five home games, cut Washington’s lead to 2-1 at 14:59. He took in a cross-ice assist from Murray and beat Washington goaltender Olaf Kolzig from the left circle.

Washington’s conservative play dominated most of the third period, but the Kings had some chances early. Their scoring frustration reached its peak midway in the period when Sean O’Donnell, Sandy Moger and Robitaille were unable to get off a good shot deep in the Washington zone.

With less than a minute remaining in regulation, Fiset was pulled. The Kings picked up their pace and their pressure finally paid off when McKenna knocked in a rebound of a shot by Rob Blake that was deflected by Robitaille in the slot.

“I started out [with some changes], but I went back to the way it was before,” Robinson said. “It wasn’t clicking. The other guys had played together for so long . . . we didn’t have enough time to work together.”