Storr Helps Kings Keep Pace in West

The boss came to town Friday, bringing a message.

Skeptics beware.

“This is not a death watch,” Kings’ President Tim Leiweke said after watching his club beat Chicago, 2-1.

“Our coaches are going to finish the year. Dave [General Manager Dave Taylor] has determined that. Let our guys have a chance to finish the season. We’re within three or four points of the playoffs.”

Actually three, because after beating the Blackhawks for the fourth time in as many games this season--and the eighth time in a row dating to last season--the Kings gained no ground on eighth place in the Western Conference because Edmonton beat Buffalo, 6-3.

There has been recent speculation about Coach Larry Robinson’s job status, perhaps quelled because the Kings are 2-1-1 on this six-game trip.

They got goals from Donald Audette in the first period and Rob Blake in the second to take a 2-0 lead, and they were in the right place with the right goalie.

Chicago is fast becoming goalie Jamie Storr’s favorite team to play. He is 3-0 against the Blackhawks, but this win was harder to come by than the first two because he had to stop 33 shots, one of them his first NHL penalty shot.

It was taken by Todd White at 1:58 of the third period, prompted when the Kings’ Yanic Perreault threw a puck out of the crease to avert a rebound effort by White.

“[Perreault] just slapped the puck away,” Storr said. “I didn’t think he closed his hand on the puck.”

Officials disagreed, and White was allowed to skate in alone on Storr, who decided to take matters into his own hands.

“I just thought that my only chance was to try to poke check, make him make a good move and stay with him,” Storr said. “It’s tough when you’ve got pressure to score and the goalie comes out and throws a stick at you and makes you make a move.”

It was too tough.

White went right, then came back left and shot the puck into Storr’s shoulder.

“He was looking like he was going to poke check,” White said. “I decided to make a move. He didn’t buy my fake and stayed with it all the way.”

It was that way all night for Storr, who learned early he was going to be challenged. The Kings were outshot, 15-6, in the first period, but got a power-play goal on shot No. 6 when Blake sent a diagonal pass to Audette, who skated past Chicago’s Chris Chelios and pushed the puck past goalie Mark Fitzpatrick.

It became 2-0 when Blake scored at 12:25 of the second period, taking a pass from Glen Murray, who earned his first point since returning to the lineup after a knee injury that cost him 19 games.

Past Chicago teams might have quit at that point, but a coaching change on Monday night put Lorne Molleken in charge and sent Dirk Graham to the unemployment line. The Blackhawks played desperation hockey in the third period and outshot the Kings, 12-4, for a 34-17 overall advantage.

One of those 12 shots was a goal by Ed Olczyk, who took a pass from Tony Amonte and beat King defenseman Steve Duchesne badly on the play.

“We let Olczyk go on the other side of the net and nobody touched him,” said Robinson, who added that the Kings gave Chicago players too much room much of the night. “That’s a defenseman’s job. You’ve got to be a little bit stronger, especially in a game as important as this one.”