LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Shortly after the Los Angeles Kings gave up their eighth consecutive goal to St. Louis over the last two games, the defending Stanley Cup champions finally gathered themselves and answered back.Martin Brodeur and the Blues were overwhelmed by the response.Anze Kopitar had a career-high five points, Jake Muzzin scored the tiebreaking power-play goal with 11:02 to play, and the Kings rallied from an early three-goal deficit for a 6-4 victory Thursday night.Some teams would probably pack it in after the 3-0 (deficit), but not this team, said Kopitar, who had a goal and four assists. We have a lot of character. We have a lot of guys that care about each other and like playing for each other.Marian Gaborik had two goals and an assist, while Jeff Carter had a goal and three assists as the champs avenged a 5-2 loss in St. Louis on Tuesday with just their second win in seven games.The Kings limped home from a 1-3-1 road trip and played an ugly first period — but just as theyve done in the last three postseasons, they remained masters of raising their game when absolutely necessary.There was no question we thought we could come back, Gaborik said. We thought we had a chance always. It feels like the playoffs — two big, heavy-duty teams playing each other like that.Dwight King also scored from mid-ice with 7:54 left on a bizarre bounce over Brodeur, capping a rough third start for St. Louis by the NHLs career victories leader.David Backes, Dmitrij Jaskin and Kevin Shattenkirk scored in a 2:48 span of the first period for the Blues, whose five-game winning streak ended. Jori Lehtera also scored for St. Louis, which hadnt allowed more than four goals in a game this season.We were careless at times, and thats a big part of it, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. We did a really poor job of managing the puck as the game went on, so we turned it into a track meet.After Carter tied it with his first goal in 14 games, Muzzin put the Kings ahead with a wicked wrist shot just underneath Brodeurs crossbar. King then padded the lead with a dump-in shot that inexplicably leaped over Brodeurs shoulder.I knew it was going to be a bad bounce, so I wanted to cover the low part of the net, Brodeur said. But I didnt expect that thing to go right over my head. It was almost like a lacrosse ball. It kind of gained speed on the second bounce. It never happened to me before.Brodeur returned to St. Louis net for the first time since Dec. 8, facing Jonathan Quick in a matchup of two goalies with a combined five Stanley Cup championships, six Jennings Trophies, four Vezina Trophies, three Olympic medals, a Conn Smythe Trophy and 158 NHL playoff victories.Brodeur and Quick both were shredded, yet each also made a handful of highlight-reel saves in the third period of a wide-open game.Quick made 24 saves, and Brodeur stopped 31 shots.St. Louis swiftly seized a 3-0 lead starting with Backes adroit deflection on a power play for his eighth goal.It was good and bad to get that lead, Brodeur said. I think when you come in from a long road trip like the Kings did, they took their medicine. But then they really picked up their game, played physical and created a lot of offence.Kopitar scored just his second goal in 15 games on a setup from Gaborik, who tied it later in the second period with his second power-play rebound goal — his fifth goal in three games.St. Louis went back ahead just 36 seconds later when Lehtera flipped a soft backhand past Quick for just his first goal in 15 games since Nov. 15.NOTES: Kopitars five points exceeded his total from the previous 13 games combined. ... Blues F Jaden Schwartz missed his first game of the season. He apparently injured his right foot Tuesday. ... Kings D Robyn Regehr left in the second period with an upper-body injury and didnt return. ... Jaskins goal was his second of the season in the Russians first game since returning from a 16-game stint in the minors. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Free Shipping . 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"I know that interviewing with Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen and everybody here that the passion for excellence is there. All they want to do is win, and theyre going to provide me with every avenue to win." Gruden was introduced Thursday as the man charged with ending the perpetual state of turmoil the team has endured under owner Snyder and recently under general manager Allen. Gruden was a given a five-year contact for his first NFL head coaching gig, taking over a 3-13 team that has finished last in the NFC East in five of the last six seasons. "We HAVE to get it right," said Allen, who led the search and interviewed six candidates. "We need to get the franchise back on track in a winning direction. ... We were looking for a new leader, somebody who can inspire our football team. We knew it was more than just X and Os, it was about finding the right person to build a team chemistry that we needed." Gruden is Snyders eighth coach in 16 seasons as an NFL owner. Unlike Shanahan, who was fired last week, Gruden will not have final say over all football matters. Hell report to Allen, who has taken charge of assembling the roster and other personnel decisions. Snyder attended the news conference but did not speak to reporters. The 46-year-old Gruden has spent the last three seasons as the offensive co-ordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals, where his skill in helping to develop Andy Dalton will no doubt be of use when he takes on the task of grooming another young franchise quarterback, Robert Griffin III. Gruden praised the talents of Griffin and spoke of the need to build a "genuine" trust with the quarterback, who regressed this season after winning the APs Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2012. Griffin returned from major knee surgery to start 13 games, but he publicly disagreed with some of Shanahans decisions, struggled as a drop-back passer and was benched for the final three weeks. Asked to confirm that Griffin will be the starter, Gruden chuckled and said: "I dont see him as a backup." "I see every trait that a quarterback has to have to be successful, I see Robert having all of those," Gruden said. "So why wouldnt you want to coach a guy like that? ... Im going to let him know that Im a trustworthy guy. Hes also got to understand that I expect a lot from the starting quarterback. I expect him to come in and prepare and work hard, and I expect him too take the blame on some throws.dddddddddddd I expect him to be a great leader." Griffin limited his comments to a quick post on his Facebook page: "Excited about the hiring of Coach Jay Gruden. Cant wait to get to work with him & the guys!" Gruden said he will call the plays himself and that he has yet to decide which members of Shanahans staff to retain. It seems a safe bet, however, that some combination of defensive co-ordinator Jim Haslett, defensive backs coach Raheem Morris and tight ends coach Sean McVay has a good chance of sticking around, based on the trios previous relationship with the new coach. Gruden also said hes a fan of the 3-4 defence that Haslett has used the last four years. "I know theres a lot of coaches here who can coach," Gruden said. Gruden has been largely overshadowed by his more famous brother, Jon Gruden, who won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is now an analyst on "Monday Night Football." But Jay Gruden has been a name on the rise based on his success with Dalton and the Bengals offence. Jay Gruden interviewed for multiple head coaching openings last year and had drawn interest from at least three other teams seeking to fill a head coaching vacancy this year. He interviewed with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday. The Redskins had to wait until the Bengals played their first-round playoff game before Gruden could be courted. It took a bad day from Gruden and Dalton -- scoring only 10 points in a home loss to the San Diego Chargers -- to make Gruden free to be hired this week. "I told him it worked out well that Cincinnati lost," Allen said. "He still doesnt understand that." Gruden said his ties within the Washington organization played a "big role" in his decision. He was an assistant coach with Tampa Bay from 2002-08, where he worked at various times with Allen, Morris and McVay. Gruden also coached under Haslett with the UFLs Florida Tuskers in 2009. Theres no question Gruden has paid his dues. He was a quarterback in the long-defunct World League of American Football, then went to the Arena Football League and began a playing and coaching career that was so successful it landed him in the AFL Hall of Fame in 1999. Hes been a head coach both the AFL and UFL, including two stints with the AFLs Orlando Predators. In 2010, after Haslett left for the Redskins, Gruden was head coach and general manager of the Tuskers and led them to the UFL championship game. "Theres a lot of work to do," Gruden said. "When youre 3-13, theres not one particular player or reason, theres a lot of reasons and theres a lot of things that need to be fixed." ' ' '
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