Not Even Oilers Can Spark Kings

By STEVE SPRINGER

Feb. 13, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Rob Blake returned to the ice Monday night.

Too bad his teammates didn’t join him until the game was half over.

The Kings got only two shots on goal in the first period and didn’t appear to get interested until they had fallen three goals behind, which resulted in a 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in front of a disappointed Staples Center crowd of 14,059.

There was no reason for those fans to be disappointed. They should have learned to lower their expectations on what has turned out to be a disastrous homestand. Faced with eight games on home ice and a playoff spot still within reach, the Kings responded by going 2-5-1.

Monday night’s game was against the team holding the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference, just two points ahead of the Kings at game time.

So how did the Kings, with Blake back in the lineup after sitting out two games because of an injured shoulder, respond?

As if it were a morning skate.

The Oilers scored twice and had a third goal whistled off in the first period.

And center Doug Weight had his stick involved in all three.

Weight, who began the night with a league-leading 47 assists, added to his total on the first goal, feeding Shawn Horcoff, who blasted the puck through goalie Jamie Storr’s pads for his sixth of the season. Later in the period, Weight scored his 13th.

He also tapped one off Storr’s left foot and across the blue line, but it was ruled that the referee already had blown the play dead.

Say this much for the Kings: They were incredibly efficient in the period, scoring on half of their shots.

Unfortunately for them, that only translated into one goal.

Two shots in a period is not a King record for futility. Twice in their history, they have gone an entire period without a shot.

So things could have been worse.

Which was of little solace to Coach Andy Murray.

The Kings’ first-period score came off the stick of Glen Murray, who stole the puck and knocked in his 11th goal on a slap shot.

In the second period, the Oilers added their third goal on a wraparound. Mike Comrie took the puck around the back of the net, left to right, caught Storr before he could get back into position and shoved the puck into the right corner for his third goal.

That was it for Storr.

Murray, having seen enough, replaced him with Steve Passmore.

Actually at that point, Murray probably had seen enough of his whole team, but he couldn’t replace them all.

It was the second consecutive game in which Murray had benched Storr, also having done so after the second period Saturday when Storr surrendered four goals to the Washington Capitals in a 4-3 loss.

Passmore played the third period in that game without giving up a goal, but only faced one shot.

Passmore didn’t have the same success or luxury Monday night. He gave up Ryan Smyth’s team-leading 21st goal in the second period.

Bryan Smolinski made it a 4-2 game when he backhanded a rebound off Oiler goalie Tommy Salo late in the second period for his 20th goal.

Twenty-eight seconds into the third period, it was reduced to a one-goal game when Murray fired from the top of the right circle and angled a shot that flew past Salo into the left corner of the net for his second goal of the game.

Edmonton’s Mike Grier scored his 12th goal to make it a 5-3.

Weight added his second goal of the game into an empty net in the final minute of play.

Why are the Kings struggling so much?

Special teams might be a good place to find an answer. In dropping to 24-23-8-1, the Kings couldn’t convert any of their six power plays Monday and had only five shots with the man advantage. They didn’t get their first shot on goal on special teams until their fourth power play.

The Oilers (26-23-8-1), on the other hand, were three for seven on the power play with a total of 12 shots.

“Everybody’s got to look in the mirror and see if they can’t do more,” King center Ian Laperriere said. “If we don’t do more, they will start moving guys. I want to stay here, but I’ve got to do more. We’ve got to care more. It’s sad to say, but sometimes I wonder if we do.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

If the playoffs began today, the Kings would be left watching:

1. ST. LOUIS

81 points

2. COLORADO

80 points

3. DETROIT

73 points

4. SAN JOSE

70 points

5. DALLAS

66 points