Kings rout the Predators

Heads swiveled at the fast and furious action -- fists flying and all -- in the waning minutes of the second period at Staples Center.

Old-time hockey, indeed.

But the action happened to be unfolding in the lower bowl of the stands off to the left of Kings goalie Jason LaBarbera, as the fans showed more fight than the Nashville Predators in the Kings’ 6-0 victory on Tuesday night in front of 14,076.

Who knows what started it all? Maybe someone made a joke about Nashville moving to Canada. One fan was escorted out by security.

In any event, it all unfolded with one ridiculously easy victory and LaBarbera’s second career shutout. He faced 17 shots and was the beneficiary of a balanced offense with six goals from five players -- Michael Cammalleri’s league-leading ninth and 10th, defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky’s first, Raitis Ivanans’ first, Alexander Frolov’s second and Ladislav Nagy’s first.

“We didn’t lose one puck battle tonight,” LaBarbera said. “Earlier in the year, we were turning over the puck in bad spots. We’re starting to jell now.”

Not to be forgotten was Derek’s Armstrong’s brilliant assist on Ivanans’ second-period goal, or Visnovsky’s standout defensive play, not only stopping J.P. Dumont on a scoring chance in the second but stripping him of the puck.

Next stop for the Kings: .500.

That remains two games away. But the Kings (4-6) are in the midst of a week-long reversal of fortune, which started last Tuesday in a shootout victory against Minnesota here. Including that game, they’ve won three of their last four and are in a position to do something they failed to do last season: win three consecutive games.

But that’s not on the line until Thursday against Dallas.

LaBarbera put a different twist on the progress.

“You can’t get too excited about it because it’s such a long season,” he said on Monday at practice. “You’re only as good as your next game. I know how they always say, ‘You’re only as good as your last game.’ But you’re only as good as your next game.’ ”

He started feeling better leading up to his third-period appearance in Calgary on Thursday and had been helped when goalie Jonathan Bernier returned to his junior team, leaving more time for LaBarbera and J.S. Aubin in practice.

Quite simply, LaBarbera had been thinking too much.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself, kind of jinxed myself maybe,” he said. “I just kept working through it,” he said. “I knew it was a good opportunity for me. I knew they need somebody to take the bull by the horns here. I know I can be that guy. I guess it’s good to get it out early in the season than later.”

In addition to his second win of the season, there were smaller and larger victories against Nashville, which has dropped six straight games.

The Predators pulled starting goalie Chris Mason and replaced him with Dan Ellis. Mason faced 19 shots and gave up four goals. He was taken out after Frolov’s power-play goal at 10:01 of the second, coming off a deflection of Nagy’s shot.

Nagy had a three-point night, picking up two assists. Rob Blake also had two assists.

Not all the news was necessarily positive for the Kings. Defenseman Jack Johnson suffered a muscle cramp late in the second period and did not play in the third, but Kings Coach Marc Crawford said he did not think it was a serious injury.

lisa.dillman@latimes.com