Coyotes at Kings 1-05

[Vegas]

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The Los Angeles Kings (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=los) have gotten off to a flying start in the new year and are looking to strengthen their hold on first place in the Pacific Division.
The Kings try to notch their fifth win in six games Thursday when they meet the Phoenix Coyotes (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=pho) for the second time in eight days.
Leading Dallas by two points in the division race, Los Angeles is tied with Detroit for the most victories in the Western Conference (26) and is among the conference leaders in goals (147). Only Colorado has more tallies (152).
Defenseman Mattias Norstrom (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=709) scored a power-play goal in overtime - his second tally of the season - as the Kings rallied from a two-goal deficit and posted a 3-2 triumph over Dallas on Monday.
Phoenix is tied with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for third place in the division, trailing Los Angeles by 12 points. The Coyotes have scored as many goals as they have allowed (117).
Ladislav Nagy (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=1983) has been one of the Coyotes' most consistent players in recent weeks. He had five goals and 15 assists in December and was among the leading candidates for Offensive Player of the Month.
Keith Ballard (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=3108) scored a shorthanded goal in overtime - his second of the game - to lead the Coyotes to a 6-5 triumph over the Kings last Thursday.

[Vegas]

2 more points for the Kings and another strong game. Gotta love Luc getting a couple of goals.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Craig Conroy (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=1195) and Joe Corvo (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=2752) scored 50 seconds apart in the first period, Luc Robitaille (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=8) ended a 14-game goal drought with two goals and Mathieu Garon (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=1968) earned his first shutout with the Los Angeles Kings (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=los) in a 4-0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night.
The Pacific Division-leading Kings won for the ninth time in 11 games following consecutive wins against the second-place Dallas Stars. Garon made 29 saves while winning for the 10th time in his last 11 starts. His other four NHL shutouts came with the Montreal Canadiens.
Phoenix goalie Brian Boucher (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=1921), who made his season debut in a 4-1 loss at Los Angeles on Dec. 17, lasted only one period after giving up three goals on 12 shots. He was replaced by Curtis Joseph (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=290), who stopped all 13 shots he faced after allowing five goals in each of the Coyotes' previous two games.
A delayed penalty led to the Kings' first two goals. Referee Mick McGeough had his hand raised to call a double-minor against Phoenix defenseman Denis Gauthier (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=1647) for high-sticking Conroy when the Kings pulled Garon for an extra attacker and took the lead at the 11:46 mark.
Conroy got a cross-ice pass from Mattias Norstrom (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=709) and beat Boucher to the stick side with a 20-foot wrist shot from the right circle for his 16th goal. As a result, Gauthier's penalty was reduced to two minutes. But the Kings capitalized on the ensuing power play when Corvo took a pass off the boards from Conroy, stickhandled toward the middle and slapped his eighth goal past a screened Boucher from just inside the blue line.
The Kings have 11 power-play goals in their last six games after going 0-for-12 in a 5-3 loss at Edmonton on Dec. 23. They have scored at least once with the man advantage in 12 of their last 13 contests.
Phoenix was 0-for-7 with the man advantage against a penalty-killing unit that had allowed a power-play goal in 11 straight games and 23 of their previous 24. They had eight power-play goals against the Kings in four previous meetings this season.
Robitaille made it 3-0 at 18:08 of the first, scoring on a one-timer from the slot, beating Boucher from about 20 feet after getting a drop pass from Michael Cammalleri (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=2991). Robitaille added an empty-netter with 49 seconds left, giving him 660 career goals and 549 in a Kings uniform, one shy of Marcel Dionne's franchise record.
The goals were Robitaille's sixth and seventh this season and his first since his game-winner on Nov. 26 against Chicago. The 19-year veteran, who has scored more goals than any left winger in NHL history, missed nine games in November with a fractured right leg and was benched for three consecutive games by coach Andy Murray in mid-December.
Game notes
The Coyotes reached the midway point of their first season with Wayne Gretzky as coach, and are third in the Pacific Division with a 20-19-2 record -- 14 points behind the first-place Kings. ... Injury-plagued Phoenix center Petr Nedved (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=394) returned to the lineup after missing four games because of a groin strain. But center Dave Scatchard (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=1670), who missed the previous game with a groin injury, re-aggravated it in the first period on his sixth shift. He will be re-evaluated Friday. ... Los Angeles recalled defenseman Richard Petiot from AHL Manchester and placed defenseman Mike Weaver (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=2964) on injured reserve.