The New Kings on the Block : Hockey: Resurgent team wins third in a row as Gretzky has two assists and one goal in 4-2 victory over North Stars. Scott impressive in goal.

The Minnesota North Stars could be excused for trying to sneak a peek under the helmets of those guys they were playing at the Forum Wednesday night.

Were those really the same Kings they had faced just a week earlier?

These Kings could not only get a lead, but hold it. These Kings could play defense for three periods.

That’s what they did Wednesday, holding off the North Stars, 4-2, before a sellout crowd of 16,005 for their third win a row.

When the North Stars saw the Kings last week in Minnesota, the club was at a low point.

They had lost five in a row, their coach was facing surgery, their goalie, sick with mononucleosis, wasn’t facing anybody and their defense couldn’t stop anybody.

Mike Krushelnyski was spending some time on the bench.

Even Wayne Gretzky was in a slump.

Defenseman Steve Duchesne perhaps best symbolized his team’s frustration that cold night in Minnesota when he inadvertently hit the puck into his own net in a 6-3 loss.

A week later, Coach Tom Webster, following successful ear surgery, is on the way to recovery and so, it would seem, are the Kings.

Ron Scott, after languishing for six years in the New York Ranger organization, has come out of oblivion to fill in admirably for the ailing Kelly Hrudey in goal.

Aided by a defense that has allowed only five goals during the three-game winning streak, Scott played his second good game in a row Wednesday, facing 26 shots and stopping 24.

Krushelnyski was back in the lineup, moved from a wing to center. And Duchesne even got a bit of personal redemption by putting the puck in the Minnesota net for a change.

The Kings improved to 27-29-6. Minnesota, losing its sixth in a row on the road, fell to 26-34-3.

Admittedly, the Kings haven’t yet played an above-.500 team during this revival, but a week ago, they couldn’t beat the bad ones.

“I like the way these wins are coming,” co-interim coach Rick Wilson said. “We’re holding leads in the third period. Everybody’s contributing. When we gave up the second goal tonight, there was no sense of panic. We still had confidence.”

Starting with Gretzky, who has gone from the Average One back to the Great One in a week.

The first goal Wednesday was vintage Gretzky.

It was Showtime on skates when Gretzky came in from the left side in the first period, with defenseman Shawn Chambers in close pursuit.

Gretzky, spotting Todd Elik out of the corner of his eye barreling down the slot, faked a slap shot.

Chambers bit, and dived to stop it.

Instead, Gretzky whipped a no-look, between-the-legs pass to Elik, who put a pretty good fake of his own on Jon Casey, drawing the goalie out of the crease, then flipped the puck past him.

“You never know when it’s coming from him,” Elik said. “Anything’s possible.”

The goal, at 12:02, was Elik’s fifth and the only score in the first period.

“That’s the Wayne Gretzky that everybody comes to see,” said Wilson.

Minnesota tied the score at 10:03 of the second period when Mike Modano put a rebound between Scott’s pads for his 26th goal, and sixth in his last nine games.

The Kings went ahead, 2-1, on a power play after Stewart Gavin was called for tripping.

Again the score came off a Gretzky pass. It wasn’t as spectacular as the first, but it was just as effective.

The recipient this time was Duchesne, who fired from the high slot, about 35 feet out.

Screened by both John Tonelli and Tomas Sandstrom, Casey appeared to lose the puck as it sailed over his glove at 6:05.

It was Duchesne’s 17th goal and sixth on the power play.

The Kings added to their lead when Scott Bjugstad, recalled from New Haven a week ago, scored his first goal off a pass from Krushelnyski at 15:26.

The North Stars made it close when Perry Berezan deflected in a shot by Basil McRae at 16:11 for his third goal, but Gretzky closed out the scoring with 35th goal into an empty net with eight seconds to play for his third point of the night and fourth goal in three games.

It’s been a good week for a team that, seven days ago, was just plain weak.

King Notes

Owner Bruce McNall vehemently denied a report in a New York paper that former New York Ranger General Manager Phil Esposito would soon be joining the Kings in an advisory capacity. “Absolutely not,” McNall said. “I have never spoken to him about that. He may wind up with an expansion team. He seems to be a popular figure for something like that. But there is no chance, no possibility he’ll be with us. I like him. He’s a good guy and a good friend, but that’s it.” . . . Sign in the window of an Inglewood sporting goods store: Kings vs. Oakland North Stars tonight. . . . The Kings had hoped the plane McNall is purchasing for them would be ready for their upcoming trip next week. That won’t be the case, but the aircraft is expected to be ready for the following trip, beginning March 11.