Klatt Contributes to Scoring Legacy

WASHINGTON — Trent Klatt has shrugged at the notion in the past, laughed it off as if it was the dumbest thing he’d heard in months.

He’ll tell anyone within shouting distance that he’s not a scorer. He’s just in there to bang a few bodies, scrap for loose pucks in the corner and set some screens in front of the net.

It almost would be worth listening to if Klatt’s statistics weren’t telling a different story.

He has a team-high six goals in 14 games, his most recent contributions driving the Kings to their third victory in the final leg of a four-game trip.

Klatt scored twice in the Kings’ 3-2 victory Monday over the slumping Washington Capitals before 11,397 unsatisfied fans at MCI Center.

The big-picture story was the success on the trip -- the Kings grabbed seven of a possible eight points and are atop the Pacific Division -- but the small-print details belonged to Klatt.

The physical forward left the Vancouver Canucks after five seasons as a fan favorite and came to the Kings with the understanding he’d be given a chance to score more often. He had a career-high 24 goals with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1996-97 but had averaged 11.3 goals a season since then.

Klatt was supposed to be on the Kings’ top line with Jason Allison and Adam Deadmarsh, but has had to adjust to different line combinations in their absence. (Allison has been out because of whiplash, Deadmarsh because of post-concussion syndrome.)

Klatt, 32, has been effective regardless, scoring three goals on a line with Luc Robitaille and Derek Armstrong and three in his more recent alignment with Brad Chartrand and Alexander Frolov.

“It’s a healthy hockey team when you don’t have selfish players out there,” Klatt said, distancing himself from his scoring trend this season. “Scoring is distributed throughout the entire lineup.”

Klatt opened the scoring by tapping in a well-placed lead pass from Chartrand to the lower slot 4:26 into the first period.

Klatt gave the Kings a 2-1 lead in the second period on a crisp give-and-go with Chartrand. Klatt skated down the left side, hit Chartrand inside the right circle and immediately got the puck back to beat Olaf Kolzig high to the stick side.

Chartrand’s two assists were his first points this season.

“Chartrand is the one that deserves the credit for tonight,” Klatt said. “He made the passes on both goals that made the difference. I just happened to be on the receiving end.”

The Kings went ahead, 3-1, on a sharp follow play by winger Sean Avery in the third period. Avery shot from the left dot, and, after Ian Laperriere tried unsuccessfully to knock in the rebound, Avery slapped in the loose puck from the lower slot for his first goal of the season.

Former King forward Robert Lang scored his second goal to bring the Capitals within 3-2 with 5:48 left, but that was all.

Even in the end, after his second two-goal game this season, Klatt denied he was a scorer.

“No,” he said, smiling slightly as he scratched his brow with his finger. “No. We’re winning. That’s all that matters.”