KINGS REPORT

The Blues weren’t above being a little star-struck by the famous faces they saw rinkside at the Forum on Monday.

Among the celebrities were Drew Barrymore, Mel Gibson and Cuba Gooding Jr.--and, yes, the Blues noticed.

“I’ve played in playoff series here before and I knew when the playoffs come around, all the glamorous stars come out,” defenseman Al MacInnis said. “You’re skating along and you do a double-take. You don’t see that very often. It’s nice to see people you admire and respect, a guy like Mel Gibson.”

But the Blues probably would have given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to Gooding, who threw onto the ice one of the rally towels the Kings had given to fans. Gooding’s toss and his climb onto the edge of the boards touched off a shower of towels from the stands.

“He got it all started,” MacInnis said. “Then Prongs [Chris Pronger] picked it up with the blade of his stick and threw it back.”

Pronger laughed. “Well, you don’t want him to lose his towel,” he said.

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Geoff and Russ Courtnall’s mother, Kathy, didn’t enjoy Monday’s game even though she was guaranteed one of her sons would win.

“She wasn’t too happy. She wasn’t pleased with Geoff,” King right wing Russ Courtnall--the younger brother--said of Geoff’s run-in with King goalie Jamie Storr. “She didn’t like it. I told him that today, but I also told him I told her it’s the way he plays, and whether she likes it or not, that’s the way he’s going to keep playing.”

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An NHL spokesman said Robinson’s derogatory postgame criticism of Koharski is under review.