Game 53: Kings 4, Flames 3

• For the Hockeywood Dailies of this game, click here.

The Kings continue their annual February's Frozen Foray, as they headed into Calgary to take on the Flames in a key Western Conference battle.

The Flames came into the game, winners of their last six games. Not only that, but the Scotiabank Saddledome has not been the most hospitable of venues for the Kings, who haven't won there in over five years.

But the Kings, enjoying a midseason resurgence of their own, drew first blodd when Rob Scuderi scored his second goal of the season just 39 seconds into the game.

But as has been their trademark this season, the Kings allowed the other team right back into the game. Robyn Regehr tied the game less than a minute later. Seriously, they need to do something about the lack of concentration after goals. Justin Williams then scored a power play goal on a deflection later in the period to give the Kings back the lead.

But the Kings could never hold onto a lead very long. The entire arena was awash in a playoff atmosphere that infected the play on the ice. The Flames came back to tie the game in the second period when Alex Tanguay scored with less than a minute gone.

A weird thing happened in the third. Andrei Loktionov made an impressive drive at the net, firing a shot at Mikka Kiprusoff, which resulted in the rebound that Williams put away. For some reason, coach Murray decided to elevate Michal Handzus to the top line, and Loktionov found himself on the bench.

After trading goals once more, both teams headed into the shootout, tied at 3. Scotiabank Saddledome was rocking, as both teams each scored in the first two rounds of the shootout. But then things settled down as Jonathan Quick and Kiprusoff denied chance after chance. It wasn't until Williams potted one in the seventh round that the game was decided.

So the Kings remain unbeaten in regulation in February, and now have five points on the first leg of the Frozen Foray. Now they have four days off to make it to Pittsburgh to play the sudden-human Penguins. With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin now out of the lineup, the Penguins look very beatable on paper.

Despite three of their four centers out, the Penguins are still a dangerous team. The Kings will need to bring their A-Game to continue this streak going. That's right, I'm calling this a streak. Usually I use three games as the definition of a streak. But their scoreless tie against the Wild was as good as a win in my book.

• AP: Kings outlast Flames in shootout

In a matchup between two of the hottest goaltenders in the league in the past couple weeks, each team scored in the game’s opening 90 seconds with the goal scorer for each team being the most unlikeliest of players.

• LA Times: Justin Williams helps the Kings defeat the Flames

Long streaks -- winning and losing ones -- are notable in the NHL because they're so rare.  So Saturday when the Kings skated into Calgary's Saddledome, where they hadn't won in five seasons, to meet a Flames team that hadn't lost in nearly three weeks, you figured something had to give.

• LAKings.com: Williams is clutch in Calgary

The Kings' last win in Calgary came on Dec. 21, 2005, a 5-2 victory. Since then, the Kings have lost 10 consecutive games. The Flames entered the game with a six-game winning streak and were looking for the first seven-game winning streak since Nov. 2005.

• Calgary Herald: Kings deep six Flames' push for streak of seven

Even though the Kings had an extra day's rest since their last game, the Flames matched their California rivals hit for hit, shot for shot, scoring chance for scoring chance.

• Calgary Sun: Flames win streak snapped

With their first chance since before Halloween to climb into a playoff position in the Western Conference, the Flames lacked that one last bullet in the chamber. Instead, it’s the Kings who jumped out of the pack into eighth place in the suffocatingly tight standings.

They said it

“We have to make that next step. Today was a statement game. We won. We weren’t at our best at times, but we need to keep pushing forward. Hopefully this is something big for us, to start.” – Justin Williams, on going 2-0-1 to start the trip.

"We knew that’s the kind of game it was going to be. They were a real good team along the wall. They play a great dot-to-boards game. They crash the net. They throw pucks at the net and they jam. It’s a real dirty game, especially coming up here. It’s a tough building to come in and get a couple points. We’re really happy with what happened tonight, and we’re going to continue with our momentum in Pittsburgh.” – Jonathan Quick, on the gritty nature of the win.

“It’s so tight. We’re happy with the result. I’m sure they wanted two points, and I know there are six or seven other teams that are saying, `Why the hell is it a three-point game?’ It’s a little early to be looking at other teams’ scores, but you always notice the three-point games. For us right now, it’s really about focusing on our game, because we’ve got to win games, regardless.” – Dustin Brown, on the playoff-like battle.

“It’s great to get the points, no question. It’s a critical time of the year to put some points on the board and keep climbing in the standings. It’s the first time in five years that the L.A. Kings have got any points, two points, out of here. For that, we’re happy, but we know we’ve got to get back to work right away.” – Terry Murray, on managing five points in the last three games.