NHL

Kings' two hat tricks dump Jackets

By wire services
Published November 14, 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Los Angeles Kings were concerned about being shown up. The Blue Jackets should have been the worried ones.

Alexander Frolov scored three goals in the opening 12 minutes, 35 seconds - on a power play, at even strength and short-handed - and Craig Conroy also had a hat trick to lead the Kings to an 8-2 victory on Sunday.

"I'd probably live a few years longer if we had more of them," Kings coach Andy Murray said of the lopsided win. "We knew it was imperative to get off to a good start and we certainly had some jump in our step. We were skating. We are afraid of being embarrassed here if we didn't play hard."

Conroy added two assists and Frolov had one. Eric Belanger and Michael Cammalleri also scored goals for the Kings, who have earned points in four straight games and six of seven.

Conroy's five points, Frolov's four and Pavol Demitra's four assists - all in the first period - were career highs for each of the linemates.

It was Frolov's first career hat trick, coming in a span of 8:18 in the opening period as Los Angeles rolled to a 5-0 lead.

"It was a great game for our team," Frolov said. "It doesn't happen very often - we're just really excited about it, especially our line."

BLACKHAWKS 3, OILERS 1: Mark Bell scored two goals and Nikolai Khabibulin made 26 saves for host Chicago. Duncan Keith had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who converted their first two shots against goalie Jussi Markkanen.

CANUCKS 4, RED WINGS 1: Todd Bertuzzi's fourth career hat trick lifted host Vancouver. Bertuzzi jammed in a rebound midway through the first period, and added his fifth goal of the season on a breakaway five minutes later. He completed his first three-goal game since March 17, 2003, after coming in alone again on goalie Manny Legace with five minutes left in the second. The Canucks snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the third time in eight contests. The NHL-leading Red Wings lost in regulation for just the third time this season (15-3-1). Two have come against Vancouver.

STARS 3, MIGHTY DUCKS 1: Philippe Boucher and Jere Lehtinen scored 50 seconds apart in the first period for visiting Dallas. Marty Turco made 40 saves in his 200th regular-season game, helping Dallas win for the fifth time in six tries. Anaheim has lost five straight after a four-game winning streak.

Fedorov involved in

Ybor City altercation

Former Lightning prospect Fedor Fedorov, now with the New York Rangers, was involved in an altercation in Ybor City early Friday morning after the Rangers' game against the Lightning at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.

A spokesman for the Tampa Police Department told the Journal News of New Jersey that Fedorov, a healthy scratch for Thursday's game, was punched in the face and suffered a broken nose and a black eye at Prana around 3 a.m., but that no charges had been filed against the attacker. Fedorov, 24 and younger brother of NHL star Sergei, apparently did not seek medical treatment in Tampa.

"He's okay, (but) he's not doing well right now," coach Tom Renney told the paper after Fedorov missed practice Saturday. He added, "He did nothing wrong."

--Times staff writer Tom Jones contributed to this report.

[Last modified November 14, 2005, 01:04:15]