GAME REPORT

FIRST PERIOD: KINGS 2, BLUES 0

* Highlight Reel: St. Louis goalie Grant Fuhr has 82 playoff victories, but suffered one major-league brain cramp to set up a King goal in the dying moments of the period. Fuhr moved out to play a loose puck, but put a clearing pass on Luc Robitaille’s stick at the left wing. Robitaille flipped the puck on goal and Yanic Perreault deflected it into the net.

* What You Won’t Find in the Box Score: Ian Laperriere’s goal was no thing of beauty. No matter. He earned it by belting St. Louis defenseman Chris Pronger against the boards, creating a turnover. The puck went to Ray Ferraro. Laperriere went to the front of the net and deflected Ferraro’s shot past Fuhr at 11:01.

* Winning Number: A power-play goal for the Kings after misfiring on 17 consecutive opportunities with the man advantage.

* Wrong Number: Three minor penalties were three too many for King Coach Larry Robinson, whose face went crimson in anger.

SECOND PERIOD: KINGS 3, BLUES 0

* Highlight Reel: Hey, that was Mel Gibson sitting down there by the glass. Cool. His was only the second-bravest heart in the Great Western Forum. How about rookie goalie Jamie Storr standing up to the Blues’ shooting gallery to start the period? The Blues had a 20-11 advantage in shots at one point. Unlike past games, the Kings cleared the rebounds from harm’s way. The sellout crowd of 16,005 chanted, “Ja-mie, Ja-mie.”

* What You Won’t Find in the Box Score: Signs of frustration from St. Louis. Geoff Courtnall high-sticked Laperriere instead of accepting another hard check. A moment later, Pronger then took a holding penalty behind the Blues’ net rather than let Glen Murray escape. The Kings couldn’t score on the resulting two-man advantage, but it gave Storr a breather.

* Winning Number: Zero goals against--just what the Kings needed after getting outscored, 10-4, in the first two games.

* Wrong Number: Twenty-seven shots on Storr were too many after 40 minutes.

FINAL: BLUES 4, KINGS 3

* Highlight Reel: Former Duck Terry Yake couldn’t have missed the open net if he tried, converting a rebound into the game-winner with the Blues on the power play at 13:08. That’s four goals for the Blues by former Ducks. Mighty interesting, eh?

* What You Won’t Find in the Box Score: Mark down 8:34 of the final period as the pivotal moment in the series. That’s when Courtnall charged into Storr in an attempt to rattle him. The Kings overreacted during the scrum that followed, giving up a five-minute power play. Four power-play goals in 3:09 stunned the Kings and rallied the Blues to a three games to none series lead.

* Winning Number: None.

* Wrong Number: Defenseman Sean O’Donnell’s fighting major to give the Blues a five-minute power play will go down in Kings’ playoff infamy. Put it with Marty McSorley’s illegal stick in Game 2 of the 1993 Stanley Cup final.