Kings Streaking Other Way : NHL: Los Angeles runs unbeaten string to five games with 6-3 victory over Blackhawks.

Wayne Gretzky knew this would happen. He figured that the Kings’ losing streak way back whenever it was would be forgotten once the team got on track.

A 6-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday night before a sellout crowd of 16,005 at the Forum helped do just that as the Kings’ ran their unbeaten streak to five games.

And King Coach Tom Webster noted, once again, that his team started on the upswing about the same time that Mike Krushelnyski and Keith Crowder came off the injured list.

“That is not by coincidence,” Webster said. “We also got some defensemen healthy, and the team started to stabilize.”

The Kings’ record went to 11-10-1, putting them over .500 for the first time in more than a month and keeping them in the thick of the very tight Smythe Division race.

The bad news is that Bob Kudelski’s left hand was swollen grotesquely over an apparently broken knuckle, the result of his punch to the head of Wayne Van Dorp. Kudelski is expected to be out three to four weeks.

“That’s hockey,” Webster said.

The usually peaceful Kings have had to fight their way to a couple of victories lately. It takes a toll on the roster.

Chicago Coach Mike Keenan, unhappy with the rocky road trip, was saying: “I don’t think we finished our checks very well to start the game with. We didn’t play a very aggressive style of game for playing on the road. You have to make sure you finish the check and take the body. You can’t win on the road unless you do that.”

The Blackhawks still lead the Norris Division with a record of 14-9-2 despite being winless in five consecutive games.

Webster was impressed with the Kings’ convincing victory over Chicago.

“It is not by accident that the Blackhawks are in first place,” Webster said. “For two periods, we played as well as we could.”

After two periods, the Kings led by four goals. They had only to hold on to win. Goaltender Kelly Hrudey stopped 11 shots in the third period, but it was his play in the second period that was most impressive.

Gretzky did his part, too, adding a goal and two assists to his league-leading points total. In his last eight games, Gretkzy has two goals and 18 assists.

Luc Robitaille has been hot lately, too. He had a goal and two assists against Chicago after getting two goals and two assists against Washington.

“It was only a matter of time before we started to play well again,” Bernie Nicholls said. “Luc’s been playing real well.”

The Kings took a 2-1 lead in the first period on goals by Marty McSorley and Nicholls and broke the game open in the second period.

Gretzky set up John Tonelli for a goal just 2 minutes 9 seconds into the second period to put the Kings ahead, 3-1. Four minutes later, Robitaille scored his ninth power-play goal of the season when he tipped in a long slapshot by Larry Robinson to make it 4-1.

Van Dorp, who got a five-minute penalty for his fight with Jay Miller in the first period, got a second five-minute penalty in the second period for his fight with Kudelski.

But Van Dorp’s fights ended in even-up penalties and, in fact, gave Chicago some advantage when Kudelski had to miss the third period to get his punching hand X-rayed.

When Blackhawk right winger Wayne Presley was called for a high stick against Brian Benning, the Blackhawks found themselves shorthanded. And they scored shorthanded after Benning gave up the puck at center ice and Doug Wilson fired a shot over the glove of Hrudey.

Hrudey managed to stop two more shots while the Blackhawks were shorthanded--kicking one puck away while he fell to his back and getting up just in time to make a glove save on another shot by Wilson.

Gretzky scored his first goal of the night at 11:40 of the second period, carrying the puck through the slot to beat goaltender Jacques Cloutier head-on.

Gretzky had an assist on the next goal, too, holding the puck behind the Blackhawk net while Dave Taylor was pulled down on the right side of the goal. Gretzky slid the puck between the fallen Taylor and the post to Steve Duchesne, who surprised Cloutier to make it 6-2 with just over five minutes left in the period.

Before the period was out, Nicholls was checked into the boards by Trent Yawney, and Nicholls responded with a quick jab that bloodied Yawney’s nose. The officials responded with a five-minute fighting major to Nicholls.

Cloutier came into the game with a record of 8-2-1 this season--including a victory over the Kings at Chicago Stadium.

Wilson said: “If it hadn’t been for Cloutier, the score could have been much worse.”

King Notes

King defenseman Barry Beck played Wednesday night for the first time since injuring his right thumb two weeks ago. . . . Wednesday night’s sellout was the seventh of the season for the Kings.