Garon wins this face-off

This was a moment worth framing for Kings goaltender Mathieu Garon. He stood eyeball-to-eyeball, a sheet of ice away, with New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur.

A future Hall of Famer at one end. A guy who had lost his job when the season began at the other. Not even a New Jersey bookie would take odds on that.

Minutes later, the Kings had a 3-2 shootout victory and Garon perhaps had his job back, at least if votes were given to those among the announced 16,223 at Staples Center on Monday.

Garon made two impressive saves in the shootout, making goals by Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov stand up, to give the Kings back-to-back victories for the first time since the first week of the season.

“This was just what we needed,” said Garon, who stopped 20 of 22 shots in regulation and overtime. “Getting two wins in a row is huge for us.”

It was huge for Garon, as well. His second victory in as many games would seem to stake his claim to the No. 1 goaltender spot.

It was a job he held last season, but it was taken away when the Kings acquired Dan Cloutier from the Vancouver Canucks this summer. Cloutier has struggled, however, making Garon’s modest numbers seem more impressive. He has a 2.68 goals-against average compared to Cloutier’s 3.67.

“I don’t think about who’s No. 1,” Garon said. “But every time I get to play, it’s an opportunity for me to show what I can do. I want to be successful and I want to give the team a chance to win.”

Might that be a passive-aggressive way of saying he is competing to be the No. 1 goaltender? Garon has deflected such discussions as easily as he has turned away shots the last two games.

“Those things are not my decision to make,” Garon said. “I’m not saying I want to play more. All I know is I have a job to do. If I play good, I’ll get more time.”

All the scoring before the shootout Monday occurred in the second period. The Kings got goals from Lubomir Visnovsky and Michael Cammalleri, countering goals by Brian Gionta and Travis Zajac. The game got to overtime when Garon stuck out his left leg and made a toe save on a Brian Rafalski shot as time ran out.

Garon ended up pitted against Brodeur, whose Hall of Fame credentials are complete.

“He’s one of the best, if not the best, in the league,” Garon said. “You know if you give up more than one goal [in the shootout], you’re going to lose.”

Garon gave up none. He dived forward and smothered Patrik Elias’ try from the side, then batted away Gionta’s straight-on approach on the second shot. Frolov ended the shootout, beating Brodeur with a shot between the legs, to give the Kings a winning streak.

A chance for three in a row arrives Thursday night, when they play the Phoenix Coyotes, the Pacific Division’s last-place team.

“This is great for a young team,” Craig Conroy said. “Instead of winning one, then losing one, going back and forth, you have a winning streak. That’s what good teams do in this league.”

The Kings still may be just gaining sure footing in the mediocre-team category, but Monday’s experience was youth being served. Frolov, 24, was the oldest of the Kings’ three players in the shootout.

Kopitar, 19, was the youngest. He led off, faking Brodeur to the ice before tucking in a backhander.

“I asked [Scott Thornton] what I should do and he said to be myself,” Kopitar said. “He said my moves were good enough. I froze him, so it worked out pretty good.”

Garon could say much the same thing.

chris.foster@latimes.com