Murray: Goalies Hurting as Team Slides

The stigma of 23 goals in three games lingered while the Kings prepared to play the San Jose Sharks in an attempt to stop the hemorrhage.

Reduced to its basics, said Coach Andy Murray, “is I played two goalies that probably shouldn’t have been in there, based on health or number of practices.”

Jamie Storr suffered a concussion when he was hit twice in a Dec. 11 game at Montreal. Stephane Fiset had been sidelined since Nov. 9 because of a bruised stick hand and had practiced only a couple of times before being activated.

Storr passed a doctor’s examination before starting at New Jersey, then surrendered three first-period goals before giving way to Fiset in a 7-1 loss.

The next night, a doctor looked at Storr again before a game against the New York Rangers. One period and six goals later, Fiset replaced Storr in goal.

“I could see things, but I couldn’t put them in their place,” said Storr, who is on injured reserve and continues to receive treatment for a concussion. “One time I reached out for a shot that looked wide . . . and it hit me in the chest.”

All of this was revealed after the fact because Storr, like most players, was eager to play and unwilling to submit to injury.

“I wouldn’t call it selfishness,” said Murray. “He wanted to help the team. Jamie had played so well that he wasn’t going to lose his status. . . . Jamie knew that Steph was maybe not ready to step in and start.”

Fiset played Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks and surrendered six goals before giving way to Marcel Cousineau in the second period. Fiset was back in net Wednesday night at San Jose.

Lest anybody cast total blame on the goalies, though, it should be noted that a general defensive breakdown kept the net under assault throughout the first periods of the three games. That breakdown has been the emphasis of three days of practice since.