Kings Sweep Chicago, Leave Only Crumbs

The Chicago Blackhawks have to be scratching their heads wondering what they need to do to defeat the Kings.

After being shut out twice in three previous losses to the Kings this season, Chicago scored four goals against backup goaltender Frederic Chabot on Thursday night.

Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, the streaking Kings scored seven as they completed a four-game sweep of their Western Conference rivals with a 7-4 victory before 18,226 at United Center.

The Kings jumped to a 4-0 first-period lead and then withstood a minor Chicago rally to win for the 10th time in their last 13 games. They are 10-1-2 since Jan. 10 and their 27-20-10 record marks the first time they’ve been at least seven games above .500 since Dec. 29, 1992. It was also the Kings’ first season-series sweep of the Blackhawks since 1988-89.

The victory capped a successful two-game trip after the NHL’s 17-day Olympic break for the Kings, who tied Detroit, 1-1, on Wednesday.

Jozef Stumpel and Glen Murray each had two goals and an assist, Sean O’Donnell had a goal and three assists, and Rob Blake and Vladimir Tsyplakov each had two assists for the Kings.

“We got that first game out of the way following the [Olympic] break and I guess we had our legs tonight,” said Murray, who already has established career season highs with 19 goals and 43 points. “It was more wide open compared to the other games we played [against Chicago].

“Once we got that 4-0 lead right off the bat, I thought we kind of laid off in the second period when they came after us, but tonight was fun. I guess we would like to win every night, 7-4.”

Thanks to the Stumpel-Murray-Tsyplakov line, which combined for four goals and eight points, Chabot had the most offensive support he’s received all season from the Kings.

In making his eighth start, Chabot gave up two goals that slid through his pads and another that could have been called off because a Chicago player was clearly in the crease before the puck. Chabot finished with 21 saves, including several solid stops on Chicago’s top scorer, Tony Amonte.

“It’s nice to get that kind of offense so you can just focus on your game and not worry about the rest,” said Chabot, who improved to 2-3-2 but will return to Houston of the International Hockey League today. Chabot needs to play at least 31 minutes in two more games to qualify for an off-season roster spot with the Kings so he can be exposed for this summer’s expansion draft.

King Coach Larry Robinson said that although Chabot struggled at times, he settled down and made some solid saves in the third period.

“I thought as the game wore on, Freddie got a lot better . . . his only problem is confidence,” said Robinson, who pulled Chabot in favor of Jamie Storr late in the second period of the Kings’ 6-3 victory at Calgary on Feb. 3. “I think [not finishing his last start] was in the back of his mind because [Chicago] got back into the game a little bit.”

For the second consecutive game, the Kings got off to a fast start. Murray scored two rebound goals in the first 9:08 of the opening period, and Chicago goalie Jeff Hackett--who gave up four goals on 10 shots--was replaced by Andrei Trefilov after the Kings took a 4-0 lead at 15:39 on goals by Sandy Moger and Stumpel.

Chicago’s Eric Daze scored the Blackhawks’ first goal against the Kings in nearly 154 minutes (Stephane Fiset and Storr had blanked Chicago in the last two meetings) when he deflected in a shot by Chris Chelios with 28 seconds remaining in the first period.

Yanic Perreault scored his team-high 22nd goal to put the Kings ahead, 5-1, 2:14 into the second period, but Chicago closed to within 5-3 by the end of the period on goals by Amonte and Jean-Yves Leroux.

* NHL REPORT: Detroit matched Carolina’s six-year, $38-million offer to Sergei Fedorov. C7