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Kings shut down Flyers, 1-0

If the Los Angeles Kings earn a Western Conference playoff berth this season, they will probably look back at this weekend as their launching point.

The Flyers' Scott Hartnell watches as his shot is deflected by Kings goalie Jonathan Quick late in the third period. Quick stopped all 40 of the Flyers' shots.
The Flyers' Scott Hartnell watches as his shot is deflected by Kings goalie Jonathan Quick late in the third period. Quick stopped all 40 of the Flyers' shots.Read moreDAVID M WARREN / Staff Photographer

If the Los Angeles Kings earn a Western Conference playoff berth this season, they will probably look back at this weekend as their launching point.

The Kings got superb goaltending from Jonathan Quick as they won, 1-0, to end the Flyers' three-game winning streak Sunday afternoon.

Playing before a sellout crowd at the Wells Fargo Center, Quick made 40 saves against the Flyers' new-look offense - three of the four lines were altered - and notched his sixth shutout of the season.

The Kings, coming off an impressive, 4-1 win in Washington on Saturday, moved from 10th to a tie for eighth with Minnesota in the West. Both teams have 65 points, with the Wild having a game in hand.

"To be honest with you, and I mean this from my heart, this was just a huge win for our team," said Kings assistant John Stevens, who was at the Wells Fargo Center for the first time since he was fired as the Flyers' head coach about 14 months ago. "We're in a playoff battle, and the guys played really well in Washington [Saturday]. Today we got the 1-0 lead and were kind of on our heels a bit, but we showed a lot of resilience. Philadelphia is an awful good team, and for us to get two points here is really big for us."

It was just Los Angeles' third shutout win against the Flyers since 1973 - and their first since a 4-0 victory on Oct. 21, 2003. Former Flyer Roman Cechmanek was in the nets in that game for the Kings.

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty converted a Mike Richards turnover into the game's lone goal, scoring 17 seconds into the middle period.

Richards lost the puck behind the net to Anze Kopitar, who fed the oncharging Doughty for a right-circle drive that deflected off Richards' skate and past goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (24 saves).

The Flyers were 0 for 4 on the power play, and managed just two shots with a man advantage.

Asked why the Stevens-coached power play was so efficient, Richards said: "Icing the puck. That was really effective."

The Flyers had numerous chances. Chris Pronger rattled a shot off the post in the game's first minute. Quick robbed Jeff Carter from in close midway through the second period, and the 25-year-old goalie made a great glove save on Claude Giroux's deflection with 15 minutes left. Quick made six stops on Richards, five on Scott Hartnell, and four on Carter.

"We were playing in a back-to-back situation and three games in four days, and with the travel, so we knew it would be tough and we would have to lean on [Quick] pretty heavily," said Stevens, whose team is 4-0-2 on their 10-game road trip.

Bobrovsky, who stopped Wayne Simmonds on a second-period breakaway, kept the Flyers within striking distance with three excellent saves in a 31/2-minute span late in the game, but the Flyers could never manage the equalizer and were shut out for the fifth time this season.

"We had a number of chances and a couple that he didn't even know he stopped," Pronger said. "When things are going your way, that's what happens."

With 6 minutes, 23 seconds left, Pronger appeared to be cross-checked from behind by Jarret Stoll and went hard into the boards, headfirst.

Pronger retaliated and was given a penalty for roughing. Stoll was not penalized, though his hit will surely be reviewed by the NHL for a possible suspension.

Asked if he was surprised Stoll wasn't penalized, Pronger shrugged.

"I don't think anything surprises me anymore," he said.

Pronger said Stoll "got me from behind. I knew he was coming. He told me he was coming. I mean, there was nowhere I could go. I had my stick on the puck, so I couldn't really put my hands up to protect myself or anything like that. There's not really much else I can do there."