Fuhr Up to Task of Stopping Kings

Grant Fuhr opened the door for the Kings Thursday night when he gave up a soft goal early in the third period.

But the St. Louis Blues goaltender quickly recovered. Fuhr stopped 29 of 30 shots and the Blues were able to hold on for a much-needed 2-1 victory.

“Grant was very instrumental in our getting two points,” St. Louis Coach Joel Quenneville said. “He kept us in the game at the end.”

Fuhr was able to rest early in the game. Through the first 30 minutes, the Blues gave up only five shots. But the Kings outshot St. Louis, 26-5, over the last 30 minutes and Fuhr had to answer the challenge.

The Blues got second-period goals from Joe Murphy and Geoff Courtnall to take what seemed like a comfortable 2-0 lead into the third period. But the Kings cut the lead one minute into the final period when Fuhr mishandled the puck behind his net. With Fuhr tangled up with Kevin Stevens behind the net, the puck came in front to Vitali Yachmenev and he put it in the vacant net.

“That was a nice bit of stickhandling there,” Fuhr said with a smile afterward.

Fuhr buckled down after that.

“We got them back in it, so you’ve got to try and keep it there,” he said. “We need all the points we can get now.”

The two points the Blues earned Thursday enabled them to leap over Chicago and Calgary and into a tie for with Anaheim for sixth place in the Western Conference. The top eight teams will make the playoffs.

“They [the Blues] look like a team fighting for a playoff spot,” Kings Coach Larry Robinson said.

Brett Hull assisted on both goals, giving him 46 points in his last 34 games. Pierre Turgeon, who assisted on Murphy’s goal, has 41 points in his last 30 games.

The Kings fell to 9-24-4 on the road. The Kings have won only three games away from home in 1997, and just once since Feb. 3.