Murray, Kings Feeling the Power

Right wing Glen Murray and the Kings’ special teams were in playoff form Monday night at the Great Western Forum.

Murray scored three consecutive goals for his first career hat trick and the Kings recorded three power-play goals and a short-handed score in a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames before 12,049.

“We were struggling to score goals the last two or three weeks,” said Murray, whose last hat trick came when he played for Providence in the American Hockey League. “It kind of helps us out to get four goals like we did the last two games. But we can’t get away thinking that we’re going to score that many in the playoffs. We have to play sound defensively and when we get our chances offensively, we have to make sure they go in.

“It was just one of those nights.”

With the victory, the Kings assured themselves of at least fifth place in the Western Conference. They can still win the Pacific Division title but they will have to win their final three games and Colorado must lose its last two.

Jamie Storr was strong in goal with 27 saves for the Kings, who have scored four short-handed goals in their last two games. Their three power-play goals were the most that they’ve scored in a game since defeating the Mighty Ducks on March 9.

“It’s coming at the right time,” King Coach Larry Robinson said about the Kings’ power play, which was three for six. “We got another short-handed goal too. Things are starting to look up. But overall, I would like to see us get a few more shots. . . . The more shots we get the more chances we have to score.”

For Murray, it was a night to remember. Not only did he take over the team lead in goals with 29 but he also joined Yanic Perreault and Jozef Stumpel to have a hat trick for the Kings this season.

After the Kings’ Garry Galley and Calgary’s Andrew Cassels exchanged power-play goals early in the first period, Murray gave the Kings a 2-1 lead with a power-play score of his own when he deflected in a Rob Blake blue-line shot with 18 seconds remaining in the period.

Murray then put the Kings ahead by two goals at 9:59 of the second period when he and Stumpel hooked up for a short-handed score. Stumpel knocked the puck free from Calgary defenseman Cale Hulse and chased down the puck before passing to Murray, who beat Calgary goaltender Dwayne Roloson from the slot.

Murray finished his scoring late in the second period from the slot when he scored his second power-play goal of the game at 18:13.

“He has had a great season. He’s doing the things that we had hoped and thought he could do,” Robinson said. “He and Stumpel clicked together. They fit in really well.

“Hopefully, we can get two balanced scoring lines. That’s what I want. They move the puck well. Stumpel makes great plays, and Murray has the shot. [Opponents] back off because of Murray’s ability to shoot.”

In the third period, Calgary’s Marty McInnis got a goal to finish the scoring, but the Kings came close to adding more to their total. Blake had a penalty shot at 17:05--the first of his career--but was unable to beat Roloson.

Because the Kings will finish the regular season playing three games over four days, Robinson decided to rest defenseman Mattias Norstrom and Sean O’Donnell, along with forward Dan Bylsma against the Flames.

With Luc Robitaille, Ray Ferraro and Sandy Moger sidelined because of injuries, rookie Jason Morgan was in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for five consecutive games. Defenseman Philippe Boucher, who had not been in uniform for the previous three games, was also available.

But, it wasn’t as though the Kings were playing Calgary’s best either. The Flames, who dropped out of playoff contention last week, were without several regulars in the lineup because of injuries, including Rick Tabaracci, Jamie Allison, Valeri Bure, German Titov, Ron Stern, Todd Simpson, Erik Andersson and Michael Nylander.

“I experimented with a couple of players tonight,” Robinson said. “I wanted to give the guys, who don’t normally get that much ice time, out there as much as we could. I also experimented with a few penalty-killing partners and other combinations.”