Kings

After St. Louis ties it in the final minute of regulation, Slava Voynov's overtime goal gives the Kings a 3-2 lead in the series. ST. LOUIS — Kings Coach Darryl Sutter had no special message for his players after they came achingly close to beating the St. Louis Blues in regulation time Wednesday but yielded a last-minute goal and had to come back onto the ice at Scottrade Center. He knew that no one needed instructions or a pep talk. "You practiced overtime your whole life.

When the pressure reached its nail-biting peak, when the St. Louis Blues twice took leads over the Kings on Monday and could have seized control of Game 4 of their playoff series - and the series itself - the Kings knew it was time to remain purposeful, not to panic. "We've been in that position before and I think these guys don't get too down on themselves," forward Jeff Carter said Tuesday. "We stayed calm and we chipped away. " Goals by Carter and Dustin Penner brought the Kings from 2-0 down to even before the end of the first period.

In these tense times, with the Kings having scored one goal in each of their first three playoff games against the St. Louis Blues and needing a win Monday at Staples Center to tie the series, it somehow made perfect sense that defenseman Alec Martinez wore a huge sombrero onto the ice for practice Sunday along with one white sock, one red sock and a green jersey. As much sense, maybe, as a low-scoring team deploying seven defensemen Saturday. But that worked out pretty well: Martinez, playing for the first time since April 2, used his mobility to jump into the craziness around the net and earn an assist on the Slava Voynov goal that lifted the Kings to a 1-0 victory.

Switching from cold, snowy vistas to the backdrop of a Pacific sunset, the NHL on Monday confirmed the Kings and the Ducks will face off in an outdoor game Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. Dodger Stadium. The contest, the first regular-season NHL game scheduled for an outdoor venue in a warm-weather city, will be played on a portable rink laid out from first base to third base. Contingency plans will be made for rain or other issues. "I think that's a perfect setting for a hockey game," said Kelly Cheeseman, chief operating officer of the Kings' parent company, AEG. "With the mountains and the palm trees in the background, you couldn't ask for a more magical setting.

The Kings' offense, dormant through the first three games of their opening-round playoff series against the St. Louis Blues, awoke Monday in time to prolong their season and their reign as Stanley Cup champions. Justin Williams completed a two-goal rally in the third period with a deflection that withstood a video review, as the Kings barged past the Blues for a 4-3 victory at Staples Center and evened the series at two games each. "Now it's all tied up and best of three," said center Anze Kopitar, whose first goal in 20 games, off a feed from a hard-digging Dustin Brown, had brought the Kings even at 7 minutes 14 seconds of the third period.

An old coach named Fred "The Fog" Shero once described the relationship between Canadians and their national pastime this way: "Hockey is where we live. … Life is just a place where we spend time between games. " It could feel like that in Southern California over the next few weeks. This is hockey's time to shine with two local teams in the hunt for the Stanley Cup, the Kings fighting to repeat as champions and the Ducks riding one of the better records in the league. The way things have gone for the Lakers and Clippers, and with our baseball teams struggling, the sport from up north could win some new fans.

Jonathan Quick bravely but needlessly took the blame for the Kings' losses in the first two games of their opening-round playoff series against St. Louis. When he backed up Slava Voynov's second-period goal Saturday with a 30-save performance in a gritty 1-0 victory for the Kings at Staples Center, he refused to take credit for hauling the Kings back into a series in which they were slipping toward postseason oblivion. “We were never out of it, just won a game,” he said, in typical low-key fashion after his fifth career playoff shutout.

Are the Kings panicking after losing the first two games of their opening-round playoff series to the St. Louis Blues? Are they shocked to be in such a precarious spot? Coach Darryl Sutter listened to reporters' inquiries Friday and smiled. "You guys are asking questions that are sort of like end-of-the-world questions," he said. "It's really not that. " No, but if they lose Saturday, when the series shifts to Staples Center, they might be able to see the end of their reign as Stanley Cup champions.

SACRAMENTO - There's an emotional risk to falling in love with a local pro sports team, because it can cheat on you. It can walk out and take up with another city. An owner sees greener pastures - more dollars - and jumps the fence. Or some out-of-town billionaire buys a team as a toy to bring home - as is being attempted in Seattle with the Sacramento Kings NBA team. In California's capital, basketball fans have been living in trauma for two years as suitors in Anaheim, Virginia Beach, Va., and now Seattle have made moves on their beloved Kings.