Kings Get Back in Their Groove

King interim Coach Dave Tippett walked outside the Kings’ dressing room following a 5-1 victory over Columbus on Tuesday night, looking like a coach who didn’t have a worry in the world.

After watching Adam Deadmarsh, Ziggy Palffy and Jason Allison combine for four goals and 10 points, Tippett--who’s filling in for ailing Coach Andy Murray--seemed to take his first NHL win in stride.

“Both teams were a little rusty in the first period, but as the game went on, I thought our guys did a great job of picking up the tempo,” Tippett said. The Kings improved to 20-6-4-1 over their last 31 games with the win in front of a sellout crowd of 18,136 at Nationwide Arena.

With Murray recovering from post-concussion syndrome in Minnesota after his Feb. 15 single-vehicle accident, the Kings didn’t get off to the fast start they hoped for against Columbus, the worst team in the Western Conference.

The Blue Jackets jumped on top on a goal handed to them by the Kings. With fewer than five minutes remaining in the opening period, defensemen Aaron Miller and Mathieu Schneider, along with goaltender Felix Potvin, misplayed a soft pass deep into the Kings’ zone and Columbus forward Robert Kron made them pay with a goal at 15:15.

So in their first game after the Olympic break, the Kings found themselves down a goal after one period. But that did not faze Tippett.

“We just talked about how we got the first period out of the way after the break,” Tippett said. “We felt confident that if we played the way we could, we’d be fine because we have some guys who can score some goals for us.”

A major understatement to say the least. The Kings scored goals over the final two periods as if they were in a layup line.

They ripped through the Blue Jackets over the final 40 minutes, outshooting them, 29-16, during the span.

“We weren’t doing too much offensively in the first period, but we began to click after that,” Allison said. “Once we got going, it really came easy for us.”

Deadmarsh scored his 19th and 20th goals in the second period, sandwiched around Brad Chartrand’s fifth of the season. In the third period, Palffy scored his 21st and Allison picked up his 14th to complete the scoring.

“Tip has been around for a while and he knows the game too,” Potvin said. “But as far as how we play on the ice, we’re not changing anything. So all we have to do is keep playing the way that we’ve been playing.”

A key for the Kings’ surge after the first period was the play of Ian Laperriere, Mikko Eloranta and Chartrand.

“We got a great spark out of Chartrand’s line,” Tippett said.

Chartrand’s goal came after his line kept the puck in the Blue Jackets’ zone for what seemed like five minutes. Laperriere set up the score with a nifty fake on Columbus goaltender Marc Denis, who finished with 29 saves, and defenseman Jamie Heward, before passing to a wide-open Chartrand.

“After the first period we said that we needed some energy,” Chartrand said about his goal that gave the Kings a 2-1 lead 6:36 into the period. “We got that one shift under our belt early in the second and we took off from there.... It was basically work ethic that got us going.”

The special teams of the Kings, who had the second-best power play and penalty killing units in the league before Tuesday’s game, also had a big night. Columbus did not score in three man-advantage situations, while the Kings’ power play was two for four.

Potvin, who finished with 20 saves for the Kings, was solid after a shaky start.

“There were a couple of times that maybe our communication wasn’t the best between our defensemen and him,” Tippett said.

For Tippett, it was bittersweet to gain his first NHL victory over Columbus Coach Dave King, who coached him on two Canadian Olympic teams.

“Dave and I are very good friends and it was an honor to be coaching against him,” Tippett said. “I know that I certainly wouldn’t be where I am without his input.”