Storr Closes Phoenix

The Kings’ dressing room was filled with tired players after their 4-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes Tuesday night.

Although they had a return flight to Los Angeles waiting, the Kings were not in any hurry after turning an easy victory into a tough finish for the second consecutive night.

Less than 24 hours after blowing a two-goal third-period lead before defeating the Mighty Ducks in overtime on Monday, the Kings scored four goals in nine first-period shots but then had to hold on to defeat the Coyotes in front of 16,210 at America West Arena.

In winning their third consecutive game, the Kings can thank goaltender Jamie Storr.

Storr came off the bench to replace injured starter Frederic Chabot and make several key stops in the third period.

“We got that lead early and then we kind of just sat back and let them take the play to us,” said center Ray Ferraro, who scored his first goal since Jan. 29. “We were extremely fortunate that Jamie played like he did because he was outstanding tonight.”

Storr had to come to the rescue after Chabot left the game because of a right knee sprain 4:29 into the second period. Chabot was given a lead of four goals for his second consecutive start, thanks to scores from rookie Jason Morgan, Rob Blake, Ferraro and Glen Murray.

Phoenix, which is now winless in its last 10 games, held a 42-20 edge in shots on goal but the Coyotes could not overcome the Kings fast start against goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin.

Morgan scored his first career NHL goal 47 seconds into the first period when he gathered in a pass from Dan Bylsma and had the puck bounce off a Phoenix player into the net.

Ferraro then scored his sixth goal of the season when he blasted in a shot from the left circle to give the Kings a 2-0 lead at 4:09.

The Kings, who were playing their third game in less than four days, scored their third goal in four shots on Khabibulin at 8:14 when Blake scored his 18th of the season from the right point. It was the Kings’ fourth power-play goal in two nights.

Murray put the Kings ahead by four goals when he picked up a loose puck following a blocked shot by Yanic Perreault and scored from outside the right post at 15:09.

With leading scorer Keith Tkachuk already out because of a groin injury, any hope the Coyotes had for a comeback appeared slim when center Jeremy Roenick was ejected after a fight with Mattias Norstrom late in the first period.

But with Jimmy Waite taking the place of Khabibulin in the Coyotes’ goal at the start of the second period, the Kings stopped attacking offensively. Phoenix outshot the Kings, 14-5, over the 20 minutes and scored its first goal at 13:34 when former King Rick Tocchet scored on a rebound.

In the third period, Phoenix completely took over the game and cut into the Kings’ lead when Cliff Ronning beat Storr from the left circle at 7:26. John Slaney then gave the Coyote fans hope when he scored his third goal of the season from the blue line at 11:02 to make the score 4-3.

The Coyotes continued to dominate play, but Storr was able to keep Phoenix from tying the score despite several solid scoring chances in front of the Kings’ net.

“They got momentum and they never stopped,” said Storr, who finished with 27 saves in playing nearly 36 minutes.

“It was kind of scary, but it also is good. It’s good to battle a game out like that and win it as a team. It gives you a little more strength. For me, I just have to deal with whatever they give me. I want to play in as many games as I can and if I’m going to get into games like this, that’s fine. It was a different type of game.”