Hrudey Does His Job to End the Kings’ Skid

He faced 100 shots in two games last week.

He faced the media and shouldered much of the blame, unfair as that was, for the Kings’ five-game losing streak.

But Thursday night, he was faced with perhaps his toughest task this season, stopping the Kings’ slide by stopping the hottest team in hockey.

Goalie Kelly Hrudey didn’t have much to work with on a night when his club managed to score just two goals.

But he made it stand up through 60 grueling minutes of constant pressure, great saves and one shot that lodged just under his throat, sending him crashing to the ice, as the Kings edged the Winnipeg Jets, 2-1, before a sellout Forum crowd of 16,005.

Wayne Gretzky’s goal in the final period was the difference. It was his 12th, and it came on a rebound off a Tony Granato shot.

The Kings got back to .500 at 12-12-6, after going 0-5-1 over their previous six, while Winnipeg, after going 8-0-3 over their previous 11, drop to 15-9-7, falling out of a first-place tie in the Smythe Division with the Vancouver Canucks.

The Kings were outshot, 27-18, on a night when Hrudey’s goaltending and tight team defense made them a winner for the first time since Nov. 23.

Talk about getting the most out of the least.

The Kings got a season-low two shots in the first period, but still emerged with the lead.

Eight minutes and thirty-nine seconds elapsed before the Kings could get their first shot, but it wound up in the net. Taking a Marty McSorley pass in the left circle, Granato scored his 15th goal, putting the puck past goalie Stephane Beauregard.

There may not have been a lot of shots, but there was plenty of pressure on Beauregard Thursday. Normally, Bob Essensa is in the net when the Kings are across the ice. He is 5-2-3 against them lifetime with a 2.74 goals-against average.

Essensa has been playing like that against a lot of opponents this season, making him a key factor in the Jets’ fast start. Essensa is 11-4-4 with a 2.59 goals-against average.

But Essensa, out with a pulled hamstring, was not available Thursday.

Beauregard was equal to the challenge for much of the night, holding the Kings until his teammates could even the game.

That came at the 8:10 mark of the final period, Thomas Steen backhanding in his fourth goal of the season from the slot on a power play.