Gretzky Breaks Out of Slump : Kings: He scores a goal for the first time in eight games in a 5-2 victory over the Capitals, but he is still is own harshest critic.

Wayne Gretzky has been plain bad lately. Deficient on defense. Unproductive on offense. The glaring weakness on the team’s front line. A definite minus.

Says who?

Says his harshest critic--No. 99 himself.

Even after getting a goal for the first time in eight games and adding two assists during the Kings’ 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals Monday afternoon at the Forum, Gretzky wasn’t about to ease up on himself.

“I thought I played well for the first three,” he said of the seven games he had gone without a goal. “But I thought I had played badly over the last four. You are not going to play well over 80 games, but I thought I had not contributed as much as I could.

“Our line has not done well defensively, and I thought I was the weak link in that line. And we have been, because of me, in total chaos in our own zone the last couple of games.”

Pretty tough on himself?

“I’m honest with myself,” Gretzky said. “In life, whether it’s work or school, you’ve got to be honest with yourself. I don’t just judge myself by points and assists. I never have and I never will.”

Gretzky acknowledged that he had been suffering from a virus, but refused to use that as an excuse.

Not that he needed one. His two assists Monday, before a sellout crowd of 16,005 for the first home day game of the season, gave Gretzky 12 assists over the last eight games. He leads the the league with 82 assists and 115 points.

The Kings have been 4-2-2 during that stretch, boosting their record to 33-20-7. Monday’s victory boosted their Smythe Division lead over the runner-up Calgary Flames to three points.

Still, Coach Tom Webster was concerned enough about the play of his first line, consisting of Tony Granato and Tomas Sandstrom as well as Gretzky, to sit them down for a talk Sunday afternoon.

“We analyzed the way things have been going,” Granato said. “We were not finishing our checks. For the last four or five games, we have been mediocre.”

Prospects for a change didn’t look too promising early Monday when Sandstrom was forced to sit out with a bruised ankle, the result of being hit Saturday night with a shot by Granato.

No problem.

Bob Kudelski stepped in and scored his 20th and 21st goals.

Kudelski’s first was a key to the victory.

After Dave Taylor had opened the scoring with his 18th goal, the Kings appeared to be in trouble when Bob Halkidis was called for high-sticking Kelly Miller in the face. Halkidis was given a five-minute major penalty.

But in the five minutes, it was the Kings who got rich, scoring two short-handed goals while the Capitals were blanked on four shots.

After Kudelski finished a three-on-two rush by scoring on goalie Don Beaupre from the right side off a pass from John McIntyre, Granato also scored from the right side off Gretzky’s pass a little more than a minute later.

By the end of the period, the Kings had only six shots on goal, but a 50% efficiency rate to give them a 3-0 lead.

It was a theme that was to carry throughout the afternoon.

Goalie Kelly Hrudey was the busiest King, stopping 34 shots as Washington had a 36-24 advantage in shots on goal.

Miller’s 16th and 17th goals put the Capitals back in the game. His second goal came 18 seconds into the final period and set the stage for a furious 20 minutes.

Washington outshot the Kings, 13-4, in the third period. Through the first 19 minutes, Brian Benning had the Kings’ only shot on goal.

But in the end, Washington lost for the third consecutive time, dropping to 27-31-3.

With Beaupre pulled in the final minute, Gretzky broke free with the puck.

Al Iafrate and Kevin Hatcher were in pursuit as Gretzky skated almost to the crease, despite looking at an open net.

Finally, after feeling Iafrate’s stick, thrown in desperation, hit his backside, Gretzky swept the puck into the net for the first time since Feb. 2.

“It bothers him as much as anyone I’ve ever seen, when he feels he’s not doing well,” Granato said. “He’s hard on himself. That’s why he’s the best.”

King Notes

The longest Wayne Gretzky had gone previously without a goal was nine games. That was during the 1985-86 season when he was still with Edmonton. . . . The Kings shut down the Capitals on six power plays. The Kings entered the game third in the league in penalty killing at 83.8%. . . . The Kings were shut out on all five of their power plays.