Kings for a Day After a Rare Win

Depleted but not defeated, the Kings summoned an improbable victory Thursday night over the top team in the Eastern Conference.

Winning for only the fifth time in 20 games, they overpowered the Ottawa Senators, 3-0, in front of 16,518 at Staples Center, entering the All-Star break with smiles on their faces, even if they failed to gain ground in the playoff race.

Ziggy Palffy scored two goals, Bryan Smolinski scored the 200th of his career and the Kings played tight defense in front of goaltender Jamie Storr, who stepped in for the injured Felix Potvin and stopped 18 shots for the shutout.

Storr, whose shutout was his second of the season and 15th of his career, outplayed Senator backup Martin Prusek, who had been 9-0.

“He played great,” defenseman Aaron Miller said of Storr, who ascended to the No. 1 spot when Potvin suffered a knee injury Tuesday night that is expected to sideline him six to eight weeks. “And we gave him some offensive support, which we haven’t given our goalies in a long time.”

Said Storr: “It was a great effort right down the line.”

Not for the Senators, whose 0-3 trip started Monday at Dallas and included a 3-2 loss to the Mighty Ducks on Wednesday night.

“I think they got a dose of the time changes,” Smolinski said, acknowledging the Senators’ lackluster effort. “It’s hard. They’re one of the best teams in the league and they came out to California and didn’t get any points.”

The Kings made sure of it, even with nine players sidelined after Potvin and rookie forward Michael Cammalleri were added to the injured list Wednesday.

“It’s the 2002-2003 L.A. Kings jinx,” defenseman Mathieu Schneider said before the game. “I haven’t seen anything like it.... I think everyone’s at kind of a loss and trying to do the best we can with what we’ve got.”

It’s not always easy.

“The later it gets in the season and the deeper in the hole we get, the more discouraging it gets, without a doubt,” Schneider said. “It’s hard to stay positive with the injury situation on top of everything else.”

Their spirit, however, never seems to flag.

The Senators, meanwhile, looked fatigued. In the first period, they mustered only three shots on goal.

The Kings had eight but also failed to score against Prusek. That was nothing new; they’ve scored only two first-period goals in 10 games.

Also in the first period, the Kings suffered another injury. Backup goaltender Cristobal Huet, recalled Wednesday from the minors, wasn’t even on the ice when he was struck in the right cheek by an errant puck. As play continued, he left the bench and returned to the dressing room, taking six stitches.

Better news greeted the Kings early in the second period, when Senator captain Daniel Alfredsson banged a shot off the left post.

At the other end, Smolinski scored the only goal of the period at 3:09, ending a three-on-two rush by ripping a shot from the right point between Prusek’s legs.

“It’s a great milestone,” Smolinski said of his 200th goal. “I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.

“It was nice to get it in this organization.”

Palffy made the score 2-0 at 12:23 of the third period, scoring his 18th goal off a pass from Steve Heinze at the end of another odd-man rush. He added his 19th, unassisted, at 14:58.