Kings’ Barrage Quickly Puts Blue Jackets Away

The Kings continued a tour of the NHL’s Central Division and learned again just how good the Detroit Red Wings have it.

Imagine playing eight games against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Kings got a taste of it with an 8-2 victory at Nationwide Arena on Sunday in a game that demonstrated what kind of ego -- and statistical -- boost the Blue Jackets offer these days.

Alexander Frolov and Craig Conroy both had hat tricks. Conroy finished with five points, and Frolov and Pavol Demitra had four, as 10 different Kings scored at least one point.

“I would probably live a lot longer if we had a few more games like this,” Coach Andy Murray said.

That might be possible, if the Kings were able to shift divisions. The pummeling came on the heels of an impressive victory over Chicago, another woeful Central Division team. So the Red Wings have had plenty of divisional help in compiling the NHL’s best record.

The Kings were merely happy to dip into the same well Sunday. They took care of business quickly, scoring on their first two shots and hardly pausing after that.

Frolov had a hat trick in the first period. Conroy had two goals in the first period. Demitra had four assists in the first period.

“When we score on our first two shots, you know it’s our game,” Frolov said.

The Kings avoided disparaging remarks about the Blue Jackets when asked what life would be like as a Central Division team. But their actions seemed to speak volumes.

The Kings led, 5-0, by the first intermission, the first time they have scored five goals in a period since scoring five against Columbus on Oct. 23, 2001, in a 7-1 victory.

“We talked before the game about wanting to get a quick start,” Conroy said. “But that was a little quicker than we expected.”

Central Division resistance will probably get a little stiffer Tuesday, when the Kings play in Nashville. The Kings, though, weren’t even facing the worst the division has to offer Sunday -- Columbus sits above St. Louis in the standings.

Still, the Kings treated the Blue Jackets in doormat fashion.

How bad was the game?

The Kings had five goals on their first 12 shots. The Kings scored two shorthanded goals in the first period. Goaltender Mathieu Garon picked up an assist as the Kings were killing a penalty.

“When you score on your second shift, that gives you a little extra jump,” Demitra said. “I mean, everything was going our way.”

It made for a big evening for the Kings, Frolov in particular. The Kings have nudged, pushed and shoved him to shoot more, and the point seems to have resonated. He has five goals in the last three games. He scored three on four shots Sunday, all in the first period.

The hat trick, his first in the NHL, came fast. He scored two on rebounds in the first five minutes, giving the Kings a 3-0 lead. He picked up a shorthand goal, scoring on a breakaway 12:35 into the period. “It was a lucky day for us,” Frolov said.

Conroy equaled the hat trick, the second of his career, which gave him six goals in the last four games.

That Demitra-Conroy-Frolov line has 25 goals and 57 points in the last 12 games. The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, have scored only 34 goals as a team the entire season.