Hackett Gets 57 Saves as Sharks Beat Kings

For years, the Kings have struggled in places such as Boston Garden, the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary and the Forum in Montreal.

Add another building to the list--the Cow Palace.

The Sharks defeated the Kings, 7-2, on Saturday night before an announced sellout crowd of 11,089. For San Jose, the victory was its first in 14 games. The Sharks hadn’t won since Nov. 25, against Calgary.

In the meantime, the Kings (20-12-4) continue to fade further from first place in the Smythe Division. They are four points behind Calgary and one point ahead of third-place Vancouver. The Kings are 1-5-2 in their last eight games and have not won since Dec. 12. They have lost three consecutive games since tying Edmonton on Dec. 18.

“It’s a tough time,” Tony Granato said. “We’ve got to be upset because we let it slip. We’ve got to put an end to this or it will snowball.”

The last time San Jose won at home was Nov. 17, when they beat the Kings, 6-0. In their last two games, the Sharks have outscored the Kings, 13-2.

Last time, goaltender Arturs Irbe shut down the Kings. Saturday, Jeff Hackett set a franchise record with 57 saves. The previous record was 51 saves set by Hackett against Vancouver during a 4-3 loss to the Canucks on Oct. 4, 1991. And the 59 shots on goal by the Kings set a club record, surpassing the 58 on Jan. 1, 1979 against the Colorado Rockies.

Last time, King goaltender Kelly Hrudey had the misfortune to be playing against the Sharks. Saturday, it was rookie Robb Stauber’s turn. And he clearly struggled, suffering his third consecutive defeat, giving up goals from long range.

“It wasn’t there,” said Stauber, who faced 40 shots on goal. “I wasn’t there. I can’t speak for anyone else. I didn’t feel bad. My concentration wasn’t what it should be. At times, I felt I was moving too soon.

Said King Coach Barry Melrose: “We need a good game in net. We need one of our goalies to play well, and they will.”

Earlier, Hrudey and Stauber helped keep the Kings afloat. Now, they are struggling along with everyone else. Granted, the Kings have number of injuries. Nevertheless, the Sharks had only won five games before Saturday night.

Doing most of the damage was Shark left wing Johan Garpenlov, who scored once and added two assists. Not only did he contribute offensively, Garpenlov drew back-to-back penalties to give the Sharks a two-man advantage when they were holding a 3-2 lead near the end of the second period.

San Jose needed only 10 seconds to score on the resulting five-on-three advantage, Garpenlov scoring from the right crease at 17:49 to make the score 4-2.

The Kings, who gave up four power-play goals, got their goals from Granato (14th) on the power-play at 16:43 of the first period and Pat Conacher (fifth) at 5:53 of the second.

Typical of the Kings’ difficulties was a Hackett save on Luc Robitaille’s breakaway 50 seconds into the third period. Robitaille, frustrated by Hackett, whacked his stick in anger.

“Luc could have made it 4-3,” Melrose said. “You can if this game to death. I’ve never had a team with this many shots and not won.”

King Notes

Wayne Gretzky took another step toward returning to the Kings’ lineup, making his first trip of the season. He practiced with the Kings during Saturday’s morning skate and will participate in his first full-contact workout today. “I’m not worried about it,” said Gretzky, who watched the game from the press box with injured teammates Corey Millen and Marc Fortier. “It’s not like they’ll line up and hit me.” Now, Gretzky’s return is up to the coaches. He thinks it could be in about two to three weeks. “I feel it’s just a matter of conditioning now,” he said. “Whenever they feel I’m ready. It’s been three months. We’re still not going to rush things. It’d be nice to start at home. But if I’m not ready when we’re at home, I’ll start on the road.” For now, Gretzky continues his off-ice rehabilitation five times per week and he will proceed with the program until he returns to the lineup.

Not making the one-game trip were defenseman Rob Blake (cracked rib) and right wing Tomas Sandstrom (injured left arm). Tuesday, Sandstrom fell on the arm that was broken last month and is in too much pain to play. Millen (strained groin) has sat out two consecutive games. He suffered the injury about two weeks ago against Quebec and it got progressively worse. “The Calgary game I probably shouldn’t have played,” Millen said. “It got worse. I wrestled with the thought of playing tonight. But why go out there at 85% instead of waiting another two days to be 100%?”

The two recent acquisitions from Ottawa joined the Kings here. Right wing Jim Thomson dressed for the game, but forward Fortier is recovering from a back injury. . . . Right wing Frank Breault, who had no points in four games, was sent down on Thursday to the Kings’ minor league team in Phoenix.