Kudelski Enjoys Last Laugh, 5-2 : Hockey: Former King’s two goals power the Senators. L.A. is 2-11-1 on the road.

OTTAWA —  Bob Kudelski insisted he did not even glance at Coach Barry Melrose as he skated past the King bench here on Monday night.

“No, I didn’t even look at him,” he said, smiling.

But he knew exactly where King General Manager Nick Beverley and team President Roy Mlakar were sitting. “I saw Nick sitting in the stands,” Kudelski said. “It’s always in the back of your mind.”

Kudelski scored twice to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 5-2 victory over the Kings before a sellout crowd of 10,575 at the Civic Centre. The victory ended an 11-game losing streak at home, preventing the Senators from becoming the sole owner of another dubious NHL record.

The Kings (11-16-2) have lost seven consecutive games on the road and possess the league’s worst road record at 2-11-1. They didn’t score until there was 5:09 remaining, long after the game was well out of hand.

Wayne Gretzky scored a shorthanded goal at 14:51 and assisted on Alexei Zhitnik’s power-play goal at 19:04.

“We got kicked in the teeth and deserved it,” King goaltender Kelly Hrudey said. “This game wasn’t really a big setback.

“They’re all horrible.”

That’s the way the Kings have been at home and on the road. They have won two of their last 11 games and three of 14. Two victories were against St. Louis and the other against the expansion Mighty Ducks. And the Kings’ most recent defeats have come against the other recent expansion teams--Ottawa, Florida and Tampa Bay.

The Senators are much improved with the addition of rookies Alexandre Daigle and Alexei Yashin and Kudelski, the unexpected gift last season from Los Angeles. Kudelski is the only positive legacy of the Mel Bridgman era, the bumbling former general manager of the Senators who almost accidentally fell into one good trade.

He traded the forgettable Marc Fortier and Jim Thomson to the Kings almost a year ago for Kudelski. Kudelski, who hardly played once Melrose became the Kings’ coach, went on to score 21 goals in 48 games.

That was merely a warm-up for this season; he has a career-high 25 goals in 31 games and is tied for second in NHL goal-scoring with Toronto’s Dave Andreychuk, one goal behind the Maple Leafs’ Wendel Clark.

“It’s always a great feeling to do well against your old team,” Kudelski said. “Any time you get traded you always try extra hard against your old team. I felt pretty good. I was slumping for a few games, so it was nice to break out tonight.”

Said Ottawa Coach Rick Bowness: “He’s a goal-scorer on a roll. This year more than anyone, he’s benefited from the addition of Yashin and Daigle. Bobby doesn’t have great speed, but he has the knack of getting into the open spot.”

His talent for doing that was evident Monday. He scored the game’s first goal at 12:28 of the first period, digging out his own rebound after the puck hit Hrudey and defenseman Rob Blake. His second goal, on the power play, gave the Senators a 5-0 lead at 11:19 of the third. He received a pinpoint pass at the base of the left circle and flipped it over a sprawled Hrudey.

Melrose offered grudging praise for Kudelski, who probably was the first occupant of what the Kings now call “Chateau Bow-Wow.”

“He’s got talented men playing with him and he’s playing on the power play,” he said. “Bob can score on those chances.”

Kudelski was never given such opportunities from the day Melrose arrived in Los Angeles. But he shows no trace of bitterness as he closes in on a bonus for reaching 30 goals.

Kudelski was caught by surprise when he was summoned to Melrose’s hotel room in Calgary to be told about the trade.

“I wouldn’t have believed this at that point,” he said. “When you’re traded, if you are not playing in one place, you wonder if you can still play. But things have turned around 180 degrees. Now I have a different perspective on everything.”