Kings Catch Coyotes in Shift

Craig Conroy accomplished a dual feat of sorts for the Kings on Saturday night against the subdued Phoenix Coyotes.

The veteran forward rediscovered his scoring touch and may have helped his team regain some of its swagger. He had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 victory at Staples Center, giving the Kings consecutive victories for the first time in nearly a month.

The Kings won three in a row Nov. 17-22, around the same time Conroy last found the back of the net.

Coincidence? Perhaps.

“Like anything, it takes a line a while to get going,” said Conroy, whose third-period goal was his first since Nov. 17 against Vancouver. “We’ve had a ton of chances, but we haven’t had as many goals as we’d like.”

It was the third loss in a row for the Coyotes, who found out Saturday that they will be without Coach Wayne Gretzky indefinitely. Gretzky took a leave of absence to be with his mother, Phyllis, who has lung cancer.

Rick Tocchet will coach the team throughout Gretzky’s absence, Phoenix General Manager Mike Barnett said.

Gretzky, also the executive director of Team Canada, will not be at the announcement of its roster Wednesday for the Turin Olympics. It is unknown if his leave will affect his duties in that regard.

Gretzky accompanied the team to Los Angeles before leaving around 3 p.m. for the family’s home in Brantford, Canada. Phyllis Gretzky was diagnosed with a tumor earlier this year.

“She’s seriously ill,” Barnett said.

Said Tocchet: “Wayne didn’t want it to be a distraction. That’s why he kept it quiet the last few months. He wanted to keep everything as normal as possible and we tried to do that.”

After defeating the Mighty Ducks in a shootout Friday, the Kings may have taken another step toward finding themselves. Pavol Demitra added a goal and an assist as they avenged a 4-0 loss Nov. 3 in Phoenix.

“That was the topic of conversation during the day today,” King Coach Andy Murray said. “We wanted to make sure we were better than that game in Phoenix.”

Conroy set up the Kings’ first goal in the final minute of the first period.

The center followed a puck that deflected into the air and put a shot on goal as it landed. Demitra was skating by in front and tipped the shot through the legs of Coyote goalie Brian Boucher for his team-leading 17th goal of the season.

Demitra “said it hit him so I knew right after the goal that it wasn’t mine,” Conroy said. “But it was just nice to get back on the scoresheet and get one.”

Paul Mara answered for the Coyotes at 9:02 of the second, but Joe Corvo gave the Kings the lead for good a minute later with a slap shot that eluded Boucher, who was playing his first game after injuring his groin in the team’s first exhibition.

Michael Cammalleri pushed the lead to 3-1 in the third with a deflected goal and Conroy helped give the Kings’ power play a boost when he scored his 12th goal of the season.

The Kings begin a three-game trip Monday in Vancouver.

“Winning these two games will give us a boost because we know it’s going to be a tough week for us,” said goalie Mathieu Garon, who stopped 25 shots for his third win in four starts.

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Staff writer Helene Elliott contributed to this report.