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Doughty, Johnson help Kings edge Wild in shootout

Feb 25, 2009 - 7:26 AM ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Ticker) -- A pair of young blue-liners carried the Los Angeles Kings to a win without their captain.

Rookie defenseman Drew Doughty scored the decisive goal in the fourth round of the shootout Tuesday, lifting the Kings to a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

Fellow blue-liner Jack Johnson also tallied in the bonus format after tying the contest with a power-play goal in regulation for the Kings, who played without captain Dustin Brown.

Brown, who ranks second on the team with 23 goals and 48 points this season, missed the game due to the impending birth of his child.

"(Brown's) our captain and leader and one of our best players every night," Doughty said. "It definitely (hurts) to miss him in the lineup like that, but I think all the forwards did a great job tonight. They stepped up to the plate and took Brownie's spot and I thought everyone played well."

Rookie Jonathan Quick turned aside 23 shots for Los Angeles, which had lost five of its previous six contests.

"The team did a great job in front of me blocking shots when they had to, clearing out lanes so I'd be able to see the puck," Quick said. "So the credit goes to the way the team played.

"I believe they didn't end up getting off too many shots against us, a credit to how many shots our team blocked considering we had some power plays against us. It was great, it's just a big win."

Antti Miettinen netted a shorthanded goal in regulation and scored in the shootout and Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves for the Wild, who have lost four of their last six games.

After Miettinen extended the bonus format by beating Quick between the pads in the third set, Doughty caught a break on his winner. The second-overall pick in last June's draft lost control of the puck on his attempt, but it still trickled between the pads of Backstrom.

"That's what I meant when you get two pretty equal teams, it's a break you'll get that will make the outcome of the game," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said.

Defenseman Brent Burns lost control of the puck on his ensuing attempt, but Quick easily turned aside the weak shot to secure the win for the Kings (26-24-9), who moved within four points of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"It was definitely a tight, hard checking game out there," Doughty said. "We knew that we were chasing Minnesota in the standings and we knew we needed those two points. Unfortunately, we gave them that one point, but it was good to get the two."

Johnson gave Los Angeles an early advantage in the shootout, deking to the forehand and firing a wrist shot past Backstrom.

Selected third overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005, Johnson also tied the contest at 1-1 with 5:05 remaining in the second period by netting his third goal of the season.

"It was necessary to do that," Kings coach Terry Murray said of responding to the shorthanded goal.

"It's down to crunch time for everyone. We had to lock away all the bad things that happened and come back with a solid shift after that. We responded, it was good."

Miettinen opened the scoring at 5:48 of the middle session just 10 seconds after teammate Stephane Veilleux was given a delay of game penalty.