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Vyborny scores twice as Blue Jackets top Kings

Mar 8, 2007 - 4:48 AM COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- David Vyborny became the latest player to spoil a road game for the Los Angeles Kings.

Vyborny scored the tying goal in regulation and the clincher in overtime as the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied for their third consecutive victory, a 3-2 triumph over the Kings.

Recording his third multi-goal game of the campaign, Vyborny sparked the comeback for the Blue Jackets, who have won seven of their last eight home encounters with the Kings and two of the three overall meetings this season.

"We had like 30 seconds to win at the end of the overtime, and finally, we win it," Vyborny said. "You don't want to make it to the penalty shots."

"The people that needed to step up in the third did exactly that, and that is what we needed," Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. "It's your best players that have to step up and win. Vyborny, (Rick) Nash, (Sergei) Fedorov, (Fredrik) Modin (and Rostislav) Klesla were our best players in the third when we needed them the most."

After Los Angeles' Alexander Frolov was called for slashing three minutes into overtime, Vyborny ended the contest with 23 seconds remaining on a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle that sneaked past goaltender Mathieu Garon and inside the right goalpost.

"I was lucky," Vyborny said. "(Defenseman Ron) Hainsey made a great pass to me and I just put it on net. It was a lucky goal. It was a big goal and a big win for us."

"That was a really unnecessary penalty that Frolov took," Kings coach Marc Crawford said. "He has to be smarter than that. Those are the types of lessons we need to learn as we go along. You have to make intelligent decisions."

Vyborny had forged a 2-2 deadlock at 5:02 of the third period with his 15th tally of the season, a backhander from the slot that beat Garon, who was out of the crease.

"I think we played better," Garon said. "We played solid. I think we stuck up for each other and I think we deserved better than we got."

Acquired from the Washington Capitals at last week's trade deadline, defenseman Jamie Heward scored his first goal for Los Angeles and fifth of the season, snapping a 1-1 tie on a power play with 73 seconds left in the second period.

"It's a good feeling," said Heward, a former Blue Jacket. "You get your first goal playing with your new team, and then you get it in a building where you played before. That makes it that much more sweet. It came in a good cause. It gave us the lead and it gave us a chance to win the hockey game."

Geoff Platt netted his first career goal in the opening session and Fredrik Norrena made 27 saves for Columbus, which won for just the second time in seven home games.

"I just redirected it past the goalie," Platt said of his tally. "It is a proud accomplishment at this level. Very few players even make it to this level, let alone score. It is a weight lifted off of my shoulders. It is a very satisfying feeling."

"Platt (has) been a good player for us," Hitchcock said. "He's a small guy, but he gets in the competitive areas and he's not afraid to go in the corners. For a small guy to score a goal like that, it's excellent. He has got a tremendous opportunity to make a mark for next year, and he's taking advantage of it."

Columbus has won three of five games in overtime this season and is 19-2-5 when scoring first.

Defenseman Kevin Dallman scored his first tally of the season and Garon stopped 27 shots for the Kings, who have lost three in a row and fell to 9-20-3 away from home.

"I have had some chances, and you can't bury all of them," Dallman said. "It was good to get a goal. It has been a while. ... I have got my confidence going a little bit and am starting to feel like my old self again."