Kings run unbeaten streak to seven in fight-filled game

OTTAWA -- Colin Campbell will be a very busy man Friday morning.

The NHL's vice president of hockey operations will have to sort through the 252 penalty minutes handed out during the Los Angeles Kings' 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night, including an ugly second-period brawl that resulted in six ejections.

Kings forward Adam Mair will be facing at least a 10-game suspension for leaving the bench to join the melee, in which 174 penalty minutes were handed out. He received 47 penalty minutes for his role, including three game misconducts.

"We liked the way we stood together," said Kings coach Andy Murray.

The brawl followed four fights earlier in the second period, which looked like it was taken directly from the movie "Slapshot."

Ottawa goalie Jani Hurme and his Los Angeles counterpart, Felix Potvin, were among the six ejections for their fight. Mair and Jaroslav Modry were the other Kings ejected while Chris Neil and Chris Herperger also got tossed for Ottawa.

"Everything was out of control out there," said Senators enforcer Andre Roy, whose tangle with Potvin got the brawl going. "It's kind of stupid to see that kind of acting out there. There can't be fingers pointed at us."

With 5:22 remaining in the second period and the score tied 1-1, Roy and Potvin tangled at the Los Angeles crease, sparking general hostilities.

"We're not going to let one of our best players get abused," Murray said, "and we're not going to let our goalie get punched in the head."

Said Potvin: "(Roy) came at me. He's a competitive guy like me and sometimes tempers get hot."

Mair left the Kings bench and skated into Neil, who was pounding Los Angeles left winger Mikko Eloranta.

Potvin and Hurme, playing his first game against the Kings, began fighting at the LA blue line and wound up near the Senators bench.

"When they got that extra player (Mair), I had to go there because we were shorthanded," Hurme said.

It took 18 minutes to sort the penalties and when the game got going, Jamie Storr was in the Kings' net, while Patrick Lalime replaced Hurme.

Lubomir Visnovsky scored the winner at 14:45 of the third period.

Jaroslav Modry, Steve Heinze, and Adam Deadmarsh also scored for the Kings (14-14-5-2), who extended their winning streak to five games and their unbeaten string to seven (6-0-1).

Mike Fisher and Ricard Persson countered for the Senators (17-12-4-0), who had lost only two of their previous 13 home games (9-2-2-0).

Fisher opened the scoring 5:09 into the game with his eighth goal of the season. Martin Havlat chopped at a Bill Muckalt rebound, but Fisher rapped the puck past Potvin.

Modry tied the score on a power play at 12:02.

Heinze put the Kings up 2-1 at 10:59 of the third, but Persson replied for the Sens at 13:23. Visnovsky gave the Kings the lead for good a minute later.

NHL rules stipulate that Mair will get at least a 10-game ban. Earlier this season, Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi was suspended 10 games for leaving the bench to join a fight.

"For Mair, that's a long time to be suspended," Deadmarsh said. "He's a competitive guy and he tried to stick up for his teammates. I don't think the refs could have done much to stop (the brawl)."

Before the brawl, there were four fights in the first seven minutes of the second period. Deadmarsh received instigating and misconduct penalties after a scrap with Ottawa defenseman Wade Redden. That matchup followed bouts between the Kings' Kelly Buchberger and Roy, Ottawa's Shane Hnidy and LA's Jason Allison and Los Angeles' Ian Laperriere and Persson.

Notes: Deadmarsh appeared in his 500th NHL game Thursday. Persson, who skated in only one previous game since Oct. 8, played his 200th NHL contest. Senators defensemen Chris Phillips (elbow) and Karel Rachunek were sidelined by injuries, as were Kings defenseman Mathieu Schneider, right winger Ziggy Palffy (chest contusion) and center Randy Robitaille (shoulder separation).