Norstrom Can’t Fault Goalies for Game 1 Loss

When told by a reporter after Friday’s practice that Coach Larry Robinson had decided to start rookie goaltender Jamie Storr in place of Stephane Fiset in tonight’s Game 2 of the playoff series with St. Louis, defenseman Mattias Norstrom said he wasn’t surprised.

“We’ve seen it happen [in hockey] before, and sometimes it is more of a wake-up call to the rest of the guys than to the goaltender,” Norstrom said.

The Kings gave up 40 shots on goal in an 8-3 loss to St. Louis on Thursday.

“[That] loss can’t be blamed on our goaltenders,” Norstrom said. “They faced too many shots. It’s up to us, the rest of the players, not the goaltenders, to pick up our game. Our goaltending has been great all year and it still is. We can’t let [the Blues] come at us and leave our goalies out to dry like we did [Thursday].”

Norstrom added that the Kings should no longer think of themselves as untested after that embarrassing defeat.

“We came in with a lack of playoff experience, but we got that with that first game,” he said. “If we didn’t know it before, we sure know now what it takes to be successful. We saw it firsthand with St. Louis. They did everything, including 80%-90% of the battles along the boards and in front of the net. Usually, that’s our strength. We have to win there because they have too many skill players who can make plays on the open ice. We knew that from the start. We have to win those battles.”

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Center Ray Ferraro will be in the lineup for tonight’s game after sitting out Game 1 because of knee problems that have bothered him most of the season. Ferraro, who scored 13 goals and 20 points in 18 playoff games with the New York Islanders in 1993, said he is ready.

“One game is not going to correct what happened in Game 1, but I feel like I can help,” he said. “I love to play at this time of year. Since I came to L.A., this is what I’ve wanted to do, and that’s play in the playoffs. Now, it’s my chance to try and help out.”

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One reason the Kings are starting Storr in goal is the Blues’ unfamiliarity with him. They did not play against him during the regular season. St. Louis Coach Joel Quenneville says they still do not know much about Storr, even after scoring three goals against him in less than two periods on Thursday.

“It’s the first time that I ever [coached] against him,” Quenneville said. “[Until] I saw him in the net, I didn’t realize how big he was.”

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The Blues are 6-0-1 against the Kings since Jan. 11, 1997, and they know how the Kings feel because St. Louis was shut out twice in losing all four games to the Edmonton Oilers this season.

“I don’t know what it is,” said Quenneville, whose Blues have lost six consecutive games to Edmonton dating to Dec. 8, 1996. “But we just can’t seem to beat them.”

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The Kings are expected to start play tonight with Jozef Stumpel centering for Luc Robitaille and Craig Johnson, then go to Yanic Perreault with Glen Murray and Vladimir Tsyplakov.