INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Stephane Fiset recorded his third shutout of the season and Vladimir Tsyplakov set up the first three goals as the Los Angeles Kings blanked the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 Saturday night to post consecutive wins for the first time in more than a month.
Fiset faced a season-low 18 shots in recording his ninth career shutout. He turned aside five shots in the first period, seven in the second and six in the third. His other shutouts came in a 1-0 victory over the New York Islanders on opening night and in a scoreless tie with Calgary on Oct. 26.
"We've got some key players injured right now and all the guys are stepping up and they're playing great," Fiset said. "I think that we all want to make the playoffs and now it's time to step up and win some games. If we don't win some games then we are going to be out of the playoffs very soon. We have to go out there and play hard and that's what we're doing right now. The last couple games we've been playing really well and that's a good sign."
Tsyplakov's three-point effort tied a career high. He also picked up three assists against Buffalo on Jan. 9. The Kings beat the Sabres that night and edged St. Louis two days later, marking the last time they have recorded back-to-back wins.
"This is really big for me because in the last couple of games I have been kind of slow. This helps me a lot," Tsyplakov said. "It's very nice to play well and get the win, like tonight. The whole team played well."
Los Angeles had gone seven games without a win before beating Anaheim 3-1 Thursday. The win moved the Kings within six points of Vancouver, which holds the final Western Conference playoff spot.
"We've been harping all year on playing good defense," noted Los Angeles coach Larry Robinson. "We kind of got away from that a little bit. We were playing well defensively, but losing by a goal and games were really close. So we decided to work on some offense. When we did that, our game plan went out the window. So we have been trying to concentrate on our defensive responsibilities. Everybody played a great game."
The Canucks have lost seven of their last 10 games and were shut out for the fifth time this season.
"I think the biggest challenge that enough of them now are having a tough time dealing with is being a consistent, responsible hockey team," said Vancouver coach Tom Renney. "I discussed it with the 24 guys in there. I thought (the Kings) came out and played hard, they skated hard and they beat us to the loose pucks -- they outworked us. We thought we were able to go through it and get it done, but we were ill-prepared. Not enough people wanted it bad enough to start the game."
Tsyplakov picked up his first assist on Jan Vopat's goal 34 seconds into the game. Vopat's shot from the right point deflected past goaltender Corey Hirsch off the stick of Vancouver's Trevor Linden.
Jaroslav Modry made it 2-0 in the final minute of the period with his first goal since December 5th. Tsyplakov passed to Modry, who fired a slap shot from the left faceoff circle over Hirsch's left shoulder.
Los Angeles added power-play goals by Ed Olczyk in the second period and Kai Nurminen in the third. Tsyplakov grabbed a rebound of Dimitri Khristich's shot and slid a backhanded pass across the slot to Olczyk, who tapped it into a vacated net at 3:28 of the second period.
Nurminen closed the scoring 13 seconds into the third. He cut left to right across the slot before sweeping a backhander that beat Hirsch to the stick side.
Fiset's best stop came during a Vancouver power play with six minutes to go in the second period when he stood his ground and stopped a point-blank shot by Linden, who cut around Aki Berg.
The Canucks thought they scored with 14 minutes to go in the third period when Mike Sillinger jammed the puck and Fiset across the goal line. Referee Bill McCreary waved it off, however, ruling he whistled play dead.
"The puck was definitely in the net before the whistle, but what he said was that when I was going to whack the puck out of the air or off (Fiset's) chest when he was falling back, he said that I pushed him into the net," Sillinger said. "That's the only reason it wasn't a goal.
"It's almost like we were just sitting around there waiting for the next guy to do something," he added. "It's too late in the year to do that, especially when you're battling to make the playoffs."
The Kings were two for eight on the power play, while Vancouver was zero for three.
Jon's 3 stars:
1. Vladimir Tsyplakov
2. Ed Olczyk
3. Jan Vopat
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