Kings thrashed by Atlanta
Last Updated: Saturday, November 14, 2009 | 1:06 AM ET
The Associated Press
Atlanta's Maxim Afinogenov scores on Kings goalie Erik Ersberg on Friday in Atlanta. Afinogenov had two goals and two assists in the 7-0 rout of Los Angeles. (John Bazemore/Associated Press)
Ilya Kovalchuk and Maxim Afinogenov each had two goals and two assists to help the Atlanta Thrashers beat the Los Angeles Kings 7-0 on Friday night for their third straight victory.
Thrashers rookie Evander Kane, the fourth overall NHL draft pick, also scored two goals and had an assist.
His fifth goal made it 1-0 at the 10:22 mark of the second. His sixth was a short-handed goal that ended the scoring with 3:26 remaining.
Kovalchuk, who returned the night before in New York from a broken foot bone that sidelined him for three weeks, has seven points in the last two games.
"The most important thing is we got four points in the bank," he said. "It doesn't matter who scores."
The Kings, who have lost three of four, outshot Atlanta 38-21 but couldn't keep goalie Ondrej Pavelec from getting his first career shutout.
"I didn't play in the last two games, and we won, so I needed to keep it up," Pavelec said. "We played great hockey tonight."
Afinogenov and Kane each had a goal and an assist during a 5:04 stretch of the second period that included Kings goalie Jonathan Quick getting chased and major penalties and game misconducts to Atlanta's Chris Thorburn and Los Angeles's Raitis Ivanans.
Kings forward Justin Williams was assessed a major and a game misconduct for checking from behind with 1:59 remaining.
"When it got to 4-0, everybody was frustrated," Los Angeles coach Terry Murray said. "Nobody wants to let a game get out of control. Nobody wants to get physical, but the score of the game dictates a lot of that."
Kovalchuk scored his 11th goal at 12:28 in the second to make it 2-0. His 12th goal came on the power play with 14 minutes remaining to pad the lead at 5-0.
Quick gets the hook
After defenceman Zach Bogosian's seventh goal put the Thrashers ahead 3-0 at the 14:16 mark, Los Angeles coach Terry Murray pulled Quick and brought in Erik Ersberg.
Kane's fifth goal, a wide wraparound outside the left goal post, slid between Quick's legs to make it 1-0 at 10:22 in the second.
Quick dropped to 10-6-2 after stopping 11 of 14 shots. Ersberg made four saves against seven shots.
"It stunk," Ersberg said. "I can't do anything about it now. You can't worry about it too long. I think we are the better team."
Kovalchuk, whose 309 career goals lead the NHL since Atlanta drafted him No. 1 overall in 2001, likes how Afinogenov is assimilating after spending his first nine seasons under Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff.
"Max looks like he got a second life," Kovalchuk said. "In Buffalo, he took a beating by the coach. He's one of the hardest workers. Every day, he's smiling."
