Kings Inch Closer to a Playoff Spot

It was West Coast Story, starring the Kings and Ottawa Senators as two rival gangs intent on beating on each other.

And occasionally playing hockey.

Rob Blake and Philippe Boucher scored second-period goals Monday night in a 4-0 victory over the Senators, the leaders of the Eastern Conference.

The victory was the Kings’ third in a row and pulled them to within three points of Calgary and Edmonton for a playoff spot in the Western Conference with 15 games to play.

“We can’t be standing, watching the standings,” Coach Larry Robinson said. “We’ve created something here, and it’s up to us to build on it.

“We’re not out of the woods, but we’re certainly in a much better position than we were.”

In large part, that was because of the offensive play of the defensemen and the defensive play of the forwards, who spent the night forechecking Ottawa into oblivion.

They chipped in on offense in the third period when Donald Audette scored his 15th goal and Glen Murray scored for the first time since returning to the lineup from an injury 11 games ago.

Audette has seven points--three goals, four assists--in his last five games.

King goalie Stephane Fiset turned back 29 shots in his second shutout of the season.

It was another night of misery for the West Coast-challenged Senators, who would as soon stay in frigid Ottawa as join the migration to Southern California.

In all their history, the Senators are 2-13-1 in six trips to California, 0-6 in a Great Western Forum Forum they are glad to say goodbye to. They have been outscored, 35-13, by the Kings in those games. For that matter, the Kings have scored six or more goals in four of the five games.

That wasn’t going to happen Monday night, because these Kings don’t score six goals on anybody. But, after a scoreless first period of clutch-and-grab play that only occasionally resembled hockey, Blake and Boucher solved goalie Ron Tugnutt.

Blake’s goal, at 14:38, came on a power play with Lance Pitlick off the ice for roughing the Kings’ Ian Laperriere.

Blake had broken his stick seconds before and skated to the bench. Quickly re-armed, he skated to an unaccustomed position, the left wing, where Garry Galley found him alone. Galley sent the puck to Blake, who fired from 35 feet, past Tugnutt, who was distracted by the Kings’ Ray Ferraro on the play.

It was Blake’s 100th goal as a King, and no defenseman has scored more for them.

A 1-0 lead has bolstered the Kings’ confidence all season. They are 21-8-4 when scoring first.

If 1-0 is good, 2-0 is twice as good, and Boucher got all kinds of help in scoring for the second time this season.

He skated into the attacking zone late and found himself alone about 50 feet from the net and banged the ice with his stick, demanding the puck.

Boucher got it from Ferraro. The shot deflected off an Ottawa defender’s skate and the post before rattling the net.

“Ray made a great play,” said Boucher. “I don’t think he even saw me.”

Though the Kings are 19-4-1 when leading after two periods, they have frequently contributed to Robinson’s gray hair by playing softly in the third.

Not so Monday night, when Audette took a pass from Blake and won a wrestling match with Pitlick, poking the puck past Tugnutt for a 3-0 lead at 4:56.

Later, Murray tipped in a shot by Sean O’Donnell.

The win continued what has become a snowball effect for the Kings, stemming from a players-only meeting last Thursday.

“It seems like everything’s changed,” said Murray. ‘We’re fast. Everybody’s helping each other out, and we have confidence. We’re only three points out.”

And with a winning streak at just the right time.