Los Angeles Kings Hockey Team

Henrik Sedin scored twice in a 30-second span midway through a wild third period, and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Kings, 4-2, on Friday night. Sedin's outburst came less than a minute and a half after the Kings tied it on goals by Alexander Frolov and Anze Kopitar 26 seconds apart, the later on a harmless wrist shot off the left boards during a three-on-two rush.

Evgeni Nabokov returned to San Jose's lineup and immediately had an impact, stopping 23 shots in regulation and overtime and six of seven shootout attempts. No big deal for the All-Star goalie. "The guys really made it easier for me," Nabokov said after the Sharks' 2-1 victory over the Kings on Saturday night. "I didn't have to face a lot of shots. I felt good right off the bat."

The Kings embark this morning on a 13-day trip, having to vacate Staples Center to make room for the World Figure Skating Championships. On their way out of town, they'll have some figuring of their own to do: How to remain in the playoff race. That prospect became more unlikely Monday night after the Kings' 4-3 loss to Nashville when Ryan Jones rapped a rebound past Erik Ersberg with 2:18 to play.

Dustin Brown gave the Kings a comeback win and a boost in their bid to come from behind in the playoff race. Brown scored with 35 seconds left in overtime and the Kings beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2, on Thursday night as the struggling Eastern Conference leaders squandered a 2-0 lead. "It's a huge win for us," Brown said. "We've shown we could come back many times this year and this is just another one, but it just happened to be against one of the better teams in the league." Not lately.

Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and the surging Pittsburgh Penguins made quick work of the Kings in a 4-1 victory Friday night. Malkin and Crosby each had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Kennedy and Bill Guerin added goals for Pittsburgh. The Penguins, tied with Philadelphia for fourth in the Eastern Conference, have won three straight to improve to 12-1-3 under interim Coach Dan Bylsma. The game was decided in the first period, when Malkin and Crosby scored to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead.

AT CHICAGO Time: noon PDT. On the air: TV: none; Radio: 1150. Where: United Center. Records: Kings 30-31-10, Blackhawks 37-22-11. Record vs. Blackhawks: 2-1. Update: The Kings are seven points out of the final playoff berth with 11 games left, so just staying alive in the chase probably requires a victory. Center Michael Handzus has three goals and two assists in his last five games.

Getting forward Patrick Sharp back in the lineup and gaining a lead helped the Chicago Blackhawks snap their longest winless streak of the season. Sharp and Martin Havlat each scored two goals, Nikolai Khabibulin made 14 saves, and Chicago defeated the Kings, 4-1, on Sunday to end an 0-3-2 slump. Sharp skated in his first game after missing 16 with a left knee injury.

AT ST. LOUIS Time: 5:30 PDT. On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 1150. Where: Scottrade Center. Records: Kings 30-32-10, Blues 33-30-9. Record vs. Blues: 3-0. Update: Though the Kings stayed in the playoff race longer than expected, they were hurt by their latest slump. They've picked up only three points in their last six games and trail eighth-place Nashville by seven points with 10 games left. The Kings should be happy to see the Blues, having scored 15 goals in three wins against them. St.

ST. LOUIS -- Rookie Patrik Berglund scored twice in the third period to end a 10-game goal drought and Chris Mason made 22 saves for his fifth shutout this season in a 2-0 victory over the Kings on Tuesday night. "We could have played a lot better in the first 40 minutes, but we finally scored," Berglund said. "And Mason played unbelievable." The Blues are four games above .

When: 5:30 PDT. On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 1150. Where: American Airlines Center. AT DALLAS Records: Kings 30-33-10, Stars 33-32-8. Record vs. Stars: 3-0-1. Update: As the chase for the final Western Conference playoff berths narrow, both teams are going in the wrong direction. Dallas has lost four in a row, the Kings three. According to the website SportsClubStats.com, the Kings had a 0.1% chance of making the playoffs entering Wednesday's play.