Kings Keep Erasing the Bitter Memories

Wayne Gretzky returned to the Great Western Forum on Thursday night and discovered that the Kings are no longer a fragile team headed for an early off-season.

Former Ranger Russ Courtnall put the Kings up early with a first period short-handed goal and then clinched a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers with an empty net goal in the final minute before 16,005.

The victory moved the Kings into fifth place in the Western Conference with a 25-20-9 record. In going 8-1-1 over their last 10 games, the Kings have now surged ahead of Phoenix, which lost to Philadelphia on Thursday, with 59 points.

Sandy Moger scored the eventual game-winning goal for the Kings in the third period and goaltender Stephane Fiset was sharp with 24 saves to improve to 6-1-1 in his last eight home starts.

Mike Eastwood scored New York’s lone goal as the King defense made Gretzky a non-factor.

In front of their eighth home sellout this season, the Kings dominated the first 20 minutes of play, creating nine turnovers in the period.

“Any time the stands are full, it’s fun,” King defenseman Doug Zmolek said. “And, it’s fun playing against the greatest player who ever played [in Gretzky].”

The Kings’ aggressive play, however, did not result in goals despite having several solid chances against goaltender Mike Richter. The Kings outshot the Rangers, 10-6, in the period but their only goal came short-handed. Courtnall picked off an attempted pass by New York’s Bruce Driver in the Rangers’ zone and beat Richter from the slot at 4:30.

The Rangers were fortunate to be down just by a goal at the start of the second period. After successfully killing off the Kings’ third power-play opportunity early in the period, the Rangers were able to tie the score at 1-1 at 5:45.

Former King Kevin Stevens got the play started with a nice pass to Doug Lidster, who had his backhand attempt blocked by Fiset. The puck bounced off Fiset’s pads high in the air and Mike Eastwood was able to score from the slot.

Following Eastwood’s goal, the Rangers controlled the pace and held a 12-7 edge in shots for the period.

“The first period, we did a much better job, but in the second. . . . we lost total respect on who we were playing against,” King Coach Larry Robinson said. “We played right into their hands. We played soft and turned the puck over in key areas of the ice. [Fiset] had to make some great saves for us.”

The Kings began the third period like they did the start of the game with relentless forechecking that gave the Rangers problems. This tactic worked to perfection when Ray Ferraro, who received a scare when he left the ice late in the second period after banging knees with New York’s Brian Skrudland, created a turnover that went directly to Moger.

Moger knocked down the puck in the Kings’ zone and skated up ice with teammate Dan Bylsma. Moger then beat Richter high to his glove side from the right circle to give the Kings a 2-1 lead at 8:02.

“[I was looking to shoot] because the ice was really bad and I noticed at the end of the second period that [the puck] was really bouncing a lot,” said Moger, who has two goals in his last four games after being a healthy scratch for two. “So I just took the puck, went off to the side a little bit and took the shot.

“What makes us a solid team is that our top guys get their points and if [other players] can chip in once in a while, we’re a stronger team.”

The Kings then played possession hockey and the Rangers failed to mount any serious chances.

“We came up with a great effort tonight,” said New York Coach Colin Campbell, whose team is fighting for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with a 17-24-15 record. “We had a tough start but I don’t think you can blame it on lack of effort.”

Courtnall was able to finish the scoring with an empty net goal with 37 seconds remaining.

“I just wanted to come out and play well,” Courtnall said. “Our line has been doing a great job lately. Fortunately, we scored a couple of goals.”