O’Donnell Enjoys His First Goal

After Sean O’Donnell wound up and sent the puck into the net, he looked around to make sure.

“There were a lot of people in front,” he said. “I thought somebody had gotten his stick on the puck.”

Nope. O’Donnell’s goal Saturday night against Detroit was his first of the season.

Well, sort of.

“I finally got one for our team,” he said, laughing.

Six days earlier, his stick inadvertently knocked a shot by the Canadiens’ Saku Koivu past King goalie Stephane Fiset at Montreal. It was an embarrassing accident.

This goal tied the Red Wings, 3-3, in the second period.

“That’s what really felt great about it,” O’Donnell said. “We were all pretty excited [about rallying from a 3-0 deficit].”

The Kings lost, 4-3.

O’Donnell’s role has changed often through the season, and has included time spent in various combinations on defense, in penalty killing and on the power play, both around the net and on the blue line.

“He and Matty [Norstrom] have played well together, and when Rob Blake gets back, I’ll probably put him back with Norstrom and move [O’Donnell] with Doug Bodger,” Coach Larry Robinson said. “That will give us two strong defensive pairings that can play against top lines.”

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After undergoing an MRI on Monday, Blake has been cleared to skate 20 minutes a day and has been listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against Vancouver.

Blake has been sidelined since suffering a broken bone in his foot Oct. 30, though he played two games with the injury before the break was discovered.

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Winger Steve McKenna is expected to be ready to play Wednesday against Washington. He has been out since Nov. 5 after injuring an abdominal muscle in a fight against the St. Louis Blues.