Kings Make It a Point to Start Fast

Well, one down and six to go for the Kings, who were wondering about the whole night after their first power play, when shots by Garry Galley, Jozef Stumpel, Luc Robitaille, Ziggy Palffy and Bryan Smolinski went unrewarded.

That was because Blackhawk goalie Steve Passmore showed why he has earned the nickname “Free Willy” for flopping around all over the ice.

But Passmore couldn’t do it alone, and Smolinski, Robitaille, Rob Blake and Glen Murray took advantage of Chicago defensive lapses to score in a 4-1 victory Wednesday night.

The win was exactly what the Kings wanted as they began their seven-game, 11-night odyssey that continues Friday at Detroit.

“This was key,” Galley said. “We talked about it before the game, about how important it is to get off to a fast start because we have six more games, and as the trip gets longer, the games get harder.”

Passmore probably deserved a better fate, turning back 29 shots, many of them in spectacular fashion. His King counterpart, Jamie Storr, had a somewhat easier time, allowing only a third-period, short-handed goal by Tony Amonte that came on a breakaway when a puck bounced off Blake’s skate in the neutral zone.

It was the 11th short-handed goal the Kings have surrendered, most in the NHL.

Amonte’s goal gave Chicago momentum, and Doug Gilmour, Dean McAmmond and Bryan McCabe all had chances as the Blackhawks outshot the Kings, 12-5, in the third period.

“We had to kill a penalty to start the third [four minutes assessed Sean O’Donnell for high-sticking and roughing], and that got them off to a good start,” Storr said.

The Kings killed that off, giving up only two shots.

Storr’s presence on the ice at the United Center was no surprise. He has won his last four games overall and is 6-1 lifetime against the Blackhawks, his best record against any NHL team. He’s also 13-8-3 for the season, the first time he has won more than 12 games.

The Kings hammered at Passmore, outshooting Chicago, 15-5, in the opening period, but only Smolinski’s 17th goal of the season kept them from coming up dry.

“I was glad for Bryan Smolinski’s goal after all that,” King Coach Andy Murray said. “We took a look at the scoring sheet between periods and we had something like 11-1 [advantage] in scoring chances.”

And the goal came on the 11th, when Smolinski took a puck that Jason Blake sent around the boards. Smolinski then worked a give-and-go with Glen Murray and scored between Passmore’s legs to make it 1-0.

Smolinski has one more goal than he scored last season for the New York Islanders.

It became 2-0 in the second period when the Kings, who were one for six on the power play, scored when Robitaille took a pass from Palffy and beat Passmore on a breakaway with a man advantage.

“They were very aggressive on the penalty kill,” Robitaille said. “They were cheating a little bit, and I was just hoping we could take advantage.”

Rob Blake’s 15th goal of the season came when he took a pass from Donald Audette at the blue line, skated in and scored from the face-off circle, and Murray scored into an empty net with 1:16 to play.

As important as this trip is, it is perhaps more important that the Kings have won four games in a row and six of their last seven.

“The only thing I know is that we can’t go 0-7 on the trip,” Andy Murray said. “Now we go to Detroit and hope we won’t go 1-6.”

Said Robitaille: “All we can think about is the two points. Right now, every point is big.”

The two the Kings earned Wednesday night gave them 64, vaulting them into sixth place ahead of San Jose by virtue of their 27th victory.

The Sharks have 25 victories and 64 points, but the Kings have five games in hand.

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DUCKS 6

CALGARY 5

Oleg Tverdovksy scored on an assist from Paul Kariya 1:40 into overtime to give Anaheim a seesaw victory.

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WINDOW PAIN

King winger Craig Johnson needed four stitches in his finger after a freak accident in his hotel room in Chicago. Page 6