Blues Beat Kings, but Webster Wins : Hockey: Coach receives at least a temporary reprieve before St. Louis scores a 3-2 victory, dropping L.A. to 22-22-12.

Coach Tom Webster might have lost a game Tuesday night.

But he could still walk out of St. Louis Arena with a sigh of relief because he received an assurance he won’t lose something far more important--his job.

At least not for the foreseeable future.

“Right now, as far as I’m concerned, I have no intention of making a coaching change,” King General Manager Rogie Vachon said shortly before the Kings lost to the St. Louis Blues, 3-2. “I am very pleased with the way the team has been playing the last few games, especially the way Wayne’s (Gretzky) line has been playing. There is nothing like winning.”

And nothing like winning two in a row to dispel a few thinly veiled threats.

At the start of this four-game trip last Saturday, Vachon showed up unexpectedly in Pittsburgh and declared it was a make-or-break trip. Asked if firing the coach, as had been rumored, was one of the options should the Kings stumble badly on the crucial trip, Vachon had replied, “Nobody’s safe.”

King owner Bruce McNall said he would back his general manager even if Vachon felt firing Webster was the solution.

The Kings took a little of the pressure off by winning the first two games of the trip, in Pittsburgh and Buffalo, both in the closing minutes before Tuesday’s loss dropped them back to .500 at 22-22-12.

Vachon met with Webster before Tuesday’s game and personally delivered a vote of confidence. How many future losses that vote can withstand remains to be seen.

After the game, Webster was philosophical about his fate.

“All I know is, I’m still here,” he said. “I’m happy with the way the team is playing. When you take this job, you know the obstacles you are faced with. You have to deal with them the best you can. Something like this is toughest on your family.”

It now appears Webster’s job status will be determined by the Kings’ ability to get into the playoffs and do well there.

The controversy has touched the entire team. The subject of the coach’s tenuous future came up in a players-only meeting a few days ago, according to goalie Kelly Hrudey.

“It’s nobody’s fault but our own,” Hrudey said. “We can’t put the pressure on somebody else. They don’t play the games.”

Hrudey, making his 13th straight start and 15th straight appearance, was locked in a duel Tuesday night with St. Louis goalie Curtis Joseph before a crowd of 17,557.

It was a scoreless tie until Brett Hull scored his league-leading 55th goal with 1:13 to play in the second period.

The Blues, who went above .500 at 24-23-9 with the victory, seemed to take command when Garth Butcher scored his second goal of the season early in the final period.

But the Kings bounced back to tie on Mike Donnelly’s 22nd goal and Luc Robitaille’s team-high 31st. For Robitaille, it was his eighth goal in five games.

The Kings turned the Blues away on five power plays, making St. Louis 0 for 24 in that department over a span of six games. The Kings also outshot the Blues, 37-33.

But at the 10:11 mark of the third period, Ron Wilson put the rebound off his own missed shot past Hrudey’s pads for his fifth goal.

Unable to respond, the Kings could have used some extra time.

So could their coach. And he’ll apparently get it.

King Notes

General Manager Rogie Vachon said his No. 1 priority before the March 10 trading deadline is finding an established goalie to back up Kelly Hrudey. The No. 2 man currently is Darryl Gilmour, who has yet to play his first minute in the NHL. The Kings are not willing to give up a starter to get a top-quality goalie, according to Vachon, but are looking more for a short-term solution, someone who can give Hrudey an occasional breather and be there in case he gets hurt.

The Kings will also talk to the Pittsburgh Penguins about defenseman Paul Coffey, who is being shopped around.