Prospal, Lupul Make a Splash

One has his spot on the Mighty Duck roster locked up, like money in the bank -- $16.5 million, to be exact. The other is trying to cash in on an opportunity.

Vaclav Prospal and Joffrey Lupul had impressive moments in a 4-3 overtime victory over Phoenix in an exhibition game Sunday at the Arrowhead Pond.

Prospal, who signed as a free agent this summer, had three assists, one on Rob Niedermayer’s game-winner 51 seconds into overtime. Prospal continues to prosper in his move west, with one goal and five points in two games.

“It’s still early,” Prospal said. “That’s not to say I’m not happy how things are going.”

Lupul, the Ducks’ first-round pick in 2002, is trying to snag a spot on the roster.

He helped his cause by coming from behind the net and throwing the puck past goalie Brian Boucher for the Ducks’ first goal.

Lupul still has some ground to cover to completely win over Coach Mike Babcock.

“He was with some good players who got him the puck,” Babcock said. “Can he do the other things enough?”

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Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov had a tough start to his evening. Brought in midway through Sunday’s game, he took a puck off his left knee while warming up.

Then, Phoenix’s Matthew Spiller fired the puck off the boards, where it hit a seam, ricocheting toward the net and past a stunned Bryzgalov.

“I thought this was an unlucky day,” Bryzgalov said. “I get hit in the knee, a puck goes by me like that. I was thinking, what next?”

Bryzgalov, the Ducks’ top goalie prospect, recovered. He stopped all seven shots in the third period. Still, he is ticketed for Cincinnati.

“We want him to be an [American Hockey League] All-Star,” Babcock said. “He is going to be an elite goaltender, but last year he had some lulls.”

A footnote: Bryzgalov was an AHL All-Star in 2002.

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The Ducks will trim their roster today, shipping out junior kids, then travel to San Diego for three days of practice and team building.

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One man’s misfortune could be another’s luck -- and for Slovak winger Lubos Bartecko of the Kings that could mean a chance to stay in the NHL.

Bartecko, 27 became a free agent when the Atlanta Thrashers didn’t give him a qualifying offer.

He went to the Kings’ camp on a tryout and not only survived the first cuts, but scored a goal Saturday and was in the lineup again Sunday in the team’s 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks at Bakersfield.

Without Jared Aulin (shoulder surgery) and Jason Allison and Adam Deadmarsh (concussions), the Kings have given Bartecko a longer look than he otherwise might have.

“It’s always tough when you don’t have a contract,” Coach Andy Murray said, “but fortunately, he’s played in the league and we’ve lost Aulin for six months, so we’ve created an opening.”

Bartecko’s best season was 1999-2000, when he had 16 goals and 39 points for St. Louis. “I’m doing my best, battling for a job,” said Bartecko, who played on an all-Slovak line with Jozef Stumpel and Ziggy Palffy on Saturday until Stumpel sustained a neck strain. “It’s hard, because it’s a very good team here,” he said.

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Esa Pirnes, a 26-year-old Finn who was the Kings’ sixth-round pick in the June entry draft, continued to impress with two goals Sunday....

Mike Cammallieri sprained his left knee and will be reevaluated today....

King owner Philip Anschutz ranked 33rd on Forbes magazine’s list of the 400 richest Americans, with assets of $5 billion. He was 36th last year at $4.3 billion....

Stumpel’s neck strain improved Sunday, a team spokesman said....

Right wing George Parros and goalies Matt Underhill and Mathieu Chouinard were assigned to Manchester of the American Hockey League. Defenseman Aaron Rome was returned to his junior team.