BACKUP HALTS HAWKS 'STREAK'

Mathieu Garon stopped 32 shots and Los Angeles' penalty killing was perfect for the third straight game in the Kings' 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in front of 18,376 on Friday night. The loss snapped the Hawks win streak at two games. Los Angeles remains atop of the Pacific division at 11-5-1. The Hawks drop under .500 at home, 3-4 and 6-11-0 overall, good, or bad enough for 13th in the Western conference.

Eric Belanger had a goal and assist, and Michael Cammalleri, Alexander Frolov and Craig Conroy also scored for the Kings.

Los Angeles was 6-for-6 on the penalty kill, including a 5-on-3 disadvantage that lasted 35 seconds in the middle period. The Kings have turned away 21 straight power-play chances by opponents. The last time they were touched up for a man-advantage goal was midway through the second period of a 4-0 loss at Phoenix on Nov. 3.

Brent Seabrook and Mikael Holmqvist scored for the Blackhawks, who got 23 saves from Nikolai Khabibulin.

Seabrook, the lone consistent bright spot this season, opened the scoring with 5:13 left in the first period when his screened wrist shot from the point struck Garon and deflected in.

Belanger tied it 1-1 with 1:37 remaining in the first. From just outside the crease, he chipped a rebound of Jeff Cowan's shot from right wing between Khabibulin's pads.

Cammalleri's deflection with just 5.3 seconds left in the period put Los Angeles ahead 2-1. As he cut through the slot, Cammalleri redirected Dustin Brown's feed from the left boards past Khabibulin's glove.

Frolov made it 3-1 at 1:54 of the second as the Kings capitalized on a failed Chicago clearing attempt. Belanger picked up a loose puck just inside the blue line, skated to the net, then passed across the slot to Frolov, who fired into an open net.

Conroy's power-play goal with 1:40 left in the second extended the lead to 4-1. His pass attempt across the crease was blocked by Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith. But the puck bounced back onto Conroy's stick and he fired a shot over Khabibulin's shoulder.

Holmqvist completed the scoring with nine seconds left.

HOME