Kings hit road with win at their backs

LOS ANGELES — Perhaps it's a good thing that the Kings play Columbus only once more this season.

The NHL's cellar-dwellers, 11 points behind the 29th-ranked team, have given the Kings everything they can handle and then some in the clubs' three meetings this year, and LA didn't do much to separate itself in Wednesday night's 3-2 win at Staples Center, the Kings' NHL-leading 30th home game of the season.

"We were real average, quite honest," coach Darryl Sutter said of his team, which has barely outscored the Blue Jackets (5-4) and needed a last-second goal by Drew Doughty to gain a slim edge in the season series.

Credit interim Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards for maintaining his composure after the game when replays showed that the clock had stuttered with 1.8 seconds remaining, perhaps allowing Doughty to score the game-winning power play goal with less than four-tenths of a second on the clock during a goalmouth scrum.

"Well, I don't have anything official, any official report. Watching the replay and talking with our producer who runs our show, the clock stopped at 1.8 seconds, and it stopped for 1.5 seconds, and they scored with 0.5 seconds," Richards said.

"Something happened and it's really disappointing because I thought our guys battled and worked hard."

If the Kings needed it more, it's because they have to live out of a suitcase for the next two months. The Kings embark on their longest road trip of the season Thursday, a six-game, 10-day excursion that will take them to St. Louis, Carolina, Tampa Bay, South Florida, Long Island and Dallas. It's one of three road trips of at least four games remaining on their schedule.

What's unique about this trip is that it will force Los Angeles to play Atlantic and Pacific Division teams on back-to-back nights. After the Kings face the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 11, they're in action nearly 1,500 miles away one night later, taking on a gritty Dallas Stars team.

"The tough part is the start of it, right? St. Louis, Carolina, back to back," Sutter said. "You look at the time zone problem, that's poor scheduling. You're getting there 3 in the morning; that's the tough part. And then you've got two days [off] again. And then you've got back-to-back again, but it's not bad because they're afternoons. I don't look at it as a six-game trip. I look at it more as a back-to-back to start, a back-to-back to finish, and then we've got time between them."

The road hasn't presented any daunting challenges for the Kings yet. They've earned points in 16 of their 21 road games and have won in Chicago and Vancouver. Along with Nashville and Chicago, they're one of three teams to win in regulation in St. Louis, where the trip opens Friday.

"We really stick to that road mentality game. We make sure to keep things simple," Doughty said. "We don't try to do too much, and I think that could be a big part of it. At the same time, when you're on the road, guys are away from their families and stuff like that, obviously, so you're going out for dinner together and you're spending a lot more time together outside of the rink."

It's all part of the profession that Doughty savors — the competition, the camaraderie, the lack of margin for error.

"This is one of the best times of the year — of the regular season, anyway," he said. "The playoffs is no doubt the best time of the year, but right now it's gut check time."

"It's going to obviously be tough to do, but that's just how we've got to look at it. Every single point is so important. The race in this conference is just so tight that we can't be giving any points up."

NOTES: Justin Williams' first-period goal extended his point streak to nine games. He spoke about the chemistry he's been cultivating with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. "My linemates and I are kind of reading off each other pretty well. We're creating a lot of offense through turnovers, and I think that's where we're getting the multitude of our chances. When you're feeling good and pucks seem to go in, it's a good sign for us," Williams said. His career-high point streak is 11 games, set last season.  …   Doughty's goal was the sixth time that the Kings have won the game at the final buzzer, and the first time in nearly 13 years. Josef Stumpel scored with three-tenths of a second remaining as Los Angeles edged Philadelphia 4-3 on Feb. 11, 1999. Current Kings assistant GM Ron Hextall was in net for the Flyers.   …   Los Angeles is 14-0-1 when scoring three or more goals.