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RALEIGH, N. Joe Klecko White Jersey .C. -- Jeff Carter may never be a fan of having shootouts. Still, there is one scenario where he enjoys the format. "I like it when I score," Carter said. Carter was a happy man Friday night, scoring the shootout winner to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Dwight King also scored for the Kings while Jonathan Quick made 27 saves. Jeff Skinner had Carolinas goal, and Cam Ward stopped 36 shots. Carter, who had scored four goals in his first four games of the season, went to his backhand in the shootout to beat Ward. Quick stopped Nathan Gerbe, Alexander Semin and Skinner in the shootout to make Carters goal hold up as the winner. "Hes a top-class goalie, and he showed it," King said of Quick. Ward, Carolinas No. 1 netminder, has yet to win a game this season -- both of the Hurricanes victories have come with back-up Anton Khudobin in net. King scored on a short-handed breakaway 13:26 into the third period, sliding the puck through Wards legs after Carolinas Justin Faulk turned the puck over near the Hurricanes blue line. Carolina tied the score 40 seconds later on the same power play when Skinner cleaned up a rebound off an Andrej Sekera shot from the point. Up until that sequence, there had been few scoring chances in the tight-checking affair. The Kings did pressure Ward in the opening minutes of the game, and the Hurricanes Eric Staal and Alexander Semin misfired on a two-on-one opportunity in the second. Otherwise, there wasnt much room to manoeuvr. "It wasnt 50 minutes of nothing -- it was a pretty good game," said Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter. Los Angeles power play had some dangerous moments in the third period, but the unit couldnt beat Ward. The Kings also had a power play in overtime but couldnt generate many chances. Los Angeles came into the game having scored on 31.2 per cent of their man advantages this season. For his part, Carolina coach Kirk Muller was pleased with his teams effort. It was the first of 20 back-to-back games for the Hurricanes -- Carolina won 3-2 on Thursday night in Washington. "I think thats a game that shows our team is growing together," Muller said. "Obviously, we didnt get the extra point, but you know three (points) out of four -- thats pretty good." The Kings dominated in the faceoff circle, winning 69 per cent of the draws. Elias Lindholm, Carolinas first-round draft pick in the summer, suffered an upper-body injury in the second period and did not return. NOTES: Carolinas Staal played in his 695th NHL game for the Hurricanes, moving into fourth place on the franchises all-time list. . Quick was playing in his 291st NHL game but first against the Hurricanes. . Carolina made its first lineup tweaks of the season, starting F Kevin Westgarth and D Mike Komisarek in place of F Riley Nash and D Ryan Murphy. Eric Decker Grey Jersey . An MRI on Wednesday confirmed the injury. Zuccarello played in three games for Norway at the Olympics and was held without a point. Norway went 0-3 in the preliminary round and was eliminated by Russia in the qualification stage. Jalen Saunders Jersey . -- Phil McRae tied the game in the third and scored again in the shootout as the Peoria Rivermen beat the Abbotsford Heat 4-3 in American Hockey League play Sunday.PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik will make his season debut on Thursday night against Montreal. The 31-year-old Orpik is coming off abdominal surgery in July after the injury limited his effectiveness in the teams first-round playoff loss to Tampa Bay. Orpik had one goal and 12 assists in 63 games last year with a plus-12 ratio. Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby remains sidelined as hhe continues to come back from concussion-like symptoms. Eric Decker Jersey. Crosby has been cleared for contact. He said Thursday morning he feels good but hasnt really been hit hard in workouts because of the teams limited practice time. The Penguins will also be without centre Evgeni Malkin, who will miss his fourth straight game with knee issues. Tyler Kennedy (concussion) is out indefinitely. ' ' ' |
