Three Goals That Got Away Burn Kings, 4-3

It was bad enough when the Kings were losing games because they couldn’t keep the puck out of their own net.

Tuesday night at the Forum, they hit a new low when they couldn’t seem to keep the goals they got in the other team’s net.

As a result, the game slipped away with 26 seconds to play when Brett Hull scored the game-winning goal for the St. Louis Blues.

The 4-3 defeat before a disenchanted crowd of 15,071 left the Kings searching for answers to a losing streak that has reached four.

“We are just snakebit right now,” said King Coach Tom Webster.

That’s probably as good an explanation as any.

It wasn’t so much the fact they were been beaten on a Hull shot from the left side at the 19:34 mark.

Hull has been scoring goals on everybody this season. This was his league-leading 37th.

No, what really seemed to drag the Kings down emotionally was the three goals they scored that didn’t count.

It was that kind of a night.

Steve Duchesne’s first-period goal was disallowed because of a penalty.

Mikko Makela lost one at the end of the second period because time had already expired.

And Barry Beck shoved one through in the third period after the whistle had already blown, stopping play.

“At least the one (goal that was waved off) we thought could have been in on the scramble late in the third,” Webster said. “The other (at the end of the second period) was definitely out. The penalty one, you see that happening all the time, and this was the first time you see it called.”

In the first period, Duchesne slapped a shot from above the right circle that flew into the left corner, just inside the post.

The red light went on and the crowd rose to celebrate, but the high-fives quickly turned into shaking fists as it became obvious the goal would not be allowed because an interference penalty had been called on Jay Miller before the shot.

The next time the red light came on over the St. Louis goal, it counted.

That came at 10:50 of the second period. Operating on the power play, Bernie Nicholls took a shot from the left circle. It was low, but Wayne Gretzky was waiting at the left post to redirect it up and over the reach of St. Louis goalie Vincent Riendeau.

It was Gretzky’s 23rd goal and his seventh on the power play.

The Blues tied the game at the 15:04 mark. Operating on another King power play, defenseman Larry Robinson tried to pick the puck up off the boards.

Instead, he got his pocket picked.

Rick Meagher came up from behind, stole the puck, skated unimpeded to the Kings’ goal and backhanded the puck in, his sixth goal of the season and second short-handed.

Still on the power play, the Kings moved back into a 2-1 lead 20 seconds later when Nicholls passed to John Tonelli in the right circle. Tonelli one-timed the puck home, his 19th goal and seventh on the power play.

St. Louis countered on a play that typified the Kings’ effort this night.

Rod Brind’Amour passed from the left side through three Kings to Dave Lowry, ahead of the pack on the right side. Lowry skated to within five feet of King goalie Mario Gosselin and fired a shot that Gosselin caught with his glove.

But Gosselin’s momentum took him backward into the net. He hit the ice and the puck dropped out for Lowry’s ninth goal at 18:46.

The Blues took a 3-2 lead 2 1/2 minutes into the third period.

Paul MacLean fought through defenseman Barry Beck’s check and flicked a shot that bounced off Gosselin. But St. Louis’ Gino Cavallini was there to shove home the rebound for his fourth goal.

The Kings’ temporarily tied the game at the 5:57 mark when Miller put on one of his best offensive bursts of the season, coming up the right side with puck and across the crease, where he slammed it in.

It was just his third goal of the season, but it wasn’t enough.

In the locker room after scoring his winning goal, Hull was quick to praise his teammates.

“It was a fantastic play by Mike Lowry coming out of his own end,” Hull said, “And he gave it to Browny (Jeff Brown). I was kind of lucky to get the pass (from Brown). It was wobbling and I just took it to my forehand and snapped it.”

Minutes earlier, Hull had taken a shot from close range that might have been a game-winner but for defenseman Brian Benning.

With Gosselin out of position, Benning played goalie and fell on his knees to smother the shot.

But Hull got his second chance.

Snakebit, said the coach.

King Notes

One for the oddity file: Taking a lot of shots is not always an advantage. At least not for the Blues. Their record when outshooting the opposition is 7-10-2. When outshot, they are 11-7-4. . . . This is the start of a five-game home stand for the Kings. Coming in next are Edmonton (Thursday), Hartford (Saturday), Buffalo (Jan. 16) and Detroit (Jan. 18). The Kings don’t go back on the road until after the Jan. 21 All-Star game.