Third-Period L.A. Deluge Douses Calgary

It has been raining in Southern California, but the Kings chose a Wednesday night on the Canadian prairie to break their drought.

Go figure:

* Donald Audette, last goal: Dec. 14.

* Aki Berg, last goal: Nov. 18.

* Jason Blake, last goal: Dec. 8.

All three scored and the Kings added power-play goals by Jere Karalahti, Luc Robitaille and Rob Blake and one at even strength by Ziggy Palffy in their 7-2 victory over Calgary at the Saddledome.

They broke a two-game losing streak and, to stretch a point, rained on a power-play drought that had extended to 15 missed opportunities.

More important, though, they answered a challenge laid before them with 50 minutes 3 seconds to play.

They were behind, 2-0, after mistakes cost them goals by Calgary’s Jarome Iginla and Jeff Shantz, and Coach Andy Murray called time.

His grew red-faced while delivering his speech.

“I didn’t like our first 10 minutes, and I told them that we’ve got 50 minutes to find out what our team is made of,” he said.

That’s 50:03, and 22 more games.

They played a holding action for the rest of the first period, then turned on the jets.

First came Audette’s goal, scored when he was at the right place at the right time and--in his case--with the right line. It was unusual in that it was a physical goal, scored by a sniper. Audette resisted being moved out of the play by Calgary defenseman Cale Hulse long enough to poke in a puck that had come to rest in the crease after being shot by Rob Blake and rejected, however briefly, by goalie Fred Brathwaite; then guided to Audette by Glen Murray.

“I didn’t feel [Hulse],” said Audette, who later added two assists. “All I did was see the puck. It was an ugly goal.”

It’s what he has been looking for, figuring as so many scorers do that a goal like that can break open a dam.

It was scored in Audette’s first game back with his former line, centered by Bryan Smolinski.

“It’s what he needed,” said Robitaille, whose goal made it 6-2 and sent him past Michel Goulet and into 17th place on the all-time goals list with 549. Next in sight is a moving target: Boston’s Dave Andreychuk, who is at 551 and counting.

“You could see Donald’s head come up,” Robitaille added. “He had worked so hard for that goal, going to the net, and something finally came his way.”

Next up was Berg, who tied things, 2-2, on only his fourth goal in 214 NHL games. It came when Dan Bylsma’s pirouette, stick-sweeping effort in a scrum in front of Brathwaite was rejected, and Berg put in the rebound.

It helped him. A lot.

“I was really nervous to start the game and in the first period,” said Berg, who was among three defensemen--the others were Karalahti and Sean O’Donnell--singled out by Andy Murray in a morning meeting as needing to step up their games. Fresh in Berg’s memory was a thrashing he took from Edmonton’s Georges Laraque two nights earlier in Edmonton.

Then Iginla scored the Flames’ first goal after beating Berg to a puck, adding to his misery.

“After I scored that goal, everything was fine,” said Berg. “I could relax after that.”

The go-ahead goal came from Palffy, who put back a Rob Blake shot that Robitaille kept alive after Brathwaite had rejected it. The play came at 6:33 of the third period and, after it, came the deluge.

Jason Blake scored on a breakaway, coming off the bench and making a beeline to the goal without swerving and getting a pass from Smolinski en route.

Power-play goals from Karalahti, Robitaille and Rob Blake, who also had two assists, finished things for the Kings, who outshot the Flames, 48-26.

By the third, Calgary was down to four defensemen, and the Kings were dumping the puck, chasing it and wearing down the flickering Flames.

“We lost one defenseman [all-star Phil Housley] before the game [because of flu], and we lost another one [Hulse] early in the game,” said Flame Coach Brian Sutter. “It was interesting, guys like [Derek] Morris and [Darryl] Shannon, there was nothing wrong with how they played.”

Just how long they played.

The victory--their third in five games on this seven-game trip--gave the Kings 68 points, only one fewer than they amassed last season. More important, it strengthened their hold on sixth place in the Western Conference playoff standings.

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VANCOUVER 4

DUCKS 4

Anaheim scores three power-play goals and, despite blowing another two-goal lead, gains ground in the playoff race. Page 4