Schneider Delivers at Crucial Moment

Bloodied and battered by the Phoenix Coyotes, the Kings on Tuesday gutted out a 2-2 tie that brought them a giant step closer to the playoffs.

Mathieu Schneider’s power-play goal with 3:34 left in the third period, a blast from the left side that was set up on a cross-ice pass from Bryan Smolinski, subdued the howling crowd of 15,912 at America West Arena and kept the Kings seventh in the Western Conference. They travel to Vancouver Thursday for their next-to-last game of the season with a one-point lead over the eighth-place Canucks and the ninth-place Coyotes.

They’re also a point behind the fifth-place San Jose Sharks and sixth-place Edmonton Oilers. It can’t get much more dramatic than this.

“I was just shooting that side of the net, high,” Schneider said, referring to goalie Sean Burke’s stick side. “I’m not a sniper by any means. I was trying to put it in an area. . . . It’s an emotional time of year. We’ve been playing playoff hockey for the last month and a half.”

And they soon might play it for real. “No damage, no blood out there,” said a weary but smiling Glen Murray, who tied the game at 1-1 at 9:33 of the second period. “No question, this is a big, big, big point.”

Travis Green’s power-play goal at 15:02 of the second period gave the Coyotes a 2-1 lead, and Burke’s acrobatics seemed likely to preserve that margin. However, Schneider’s blast eluded Burke for his 16th goal--the biggest of the Kings’ season.

“I picked it up at the end,” Burke said. “It went over my shoulder. It was a good battle. The season is a battle that’s going to come right down to the end.”

The Kings have earned at least a point in 13 of their last 14 games. The Coyotes, who endured an 0-4-2 slump last month, have a point in each of their last six games.

“I’ll say this: we’re not going away,” Coyote Coach Bob Francis said. “It just keeps the pressure on us to win hockey games.”

For the first time in seven games, King goalie Felix Potvin gave up a goal in the first period. It was a rough period for the Kings, as scrappy center Ian Laperriere was cross-checked out of the game by Michal Handzus and the Kings failed to capitalize on the five-minute power play they gained on the major penalty assessed against Handzus.

Laperriere suffered a concussion from the blow, which snapped his head back against the dasher boards in the Kings’ zone. He also spit up blood and had to be helped off. After the game, he was woozy and unsure if he can play Thursday.

It’s certain, though, that enforcer Stu Grimson will play Thursday to deter opponents from manhandling Ziggy Palffy, who was slammed around by Brad May. “That would be our plan,” King Coach Andy Murray said.

The Coyotes had heightened the fans’ frenzy by scoring on their first shot. Claude Lemieux lofted a long, high dump-in into the Kings’ zone, where it hopped away from defenseman Jaroslav Modry. Lubomir Visnovsky had a chance to clear the puck but Handzus stole it, skated in alone and beat Potvin to the glove side.

The Kings pulled even at 9:33. Luc Robitaille created the chance by faking defenseman Keith Carney behind the net and sliding a perfect pass to the slot to Glen Murray, whose snap shot beat Burke for his 17th goal and first in 12 games.

The Kings killed another penalty, assessed for unsportsmanlike conduct after someone on their bench--Andy Murray wouldn’t identify the culprit--threw a water bottle onto the ice after the referees didn’t penalize May for taking a run at Palffy. However, the Coyotes converted their next advantage, at 15:02. With Schneider serving a boarding penalty for a hit from behind on Jeremy Roenick, Lemieux made a fine cross-ice pass from the right side to Green, who whipped a quick shot past Potvin for his 13th goal.

Palffy was unperturbed by the rude treatment, which left his jaw sore. “We have to pay the price if we want to win the game and battle for the playoffs,” he said. “We’re not going to win them all 3-0 or 4-1. We battled tonight and we got the point and that’s what matters.”

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Down the Stretch

The schedules of the teams vying for the last four Western Conference playoff spots:

* EDMONTON: tonight vs. Minnesota, Saturday at Vancouver.

* SAN JOSE: Thursday vs. Phoenix, Saturday vs. Dallas, Sunday at Mighty Ducks.

* KINGS: Thursday at Vancouver, Saturday at Calgary.

* VANCOUVER: Thursday vs. Kings, Saturday vs. Edmonton

* PHOENIX: Thursday at San Jose, Friday at Mighty Ducks.