[0] CALGARY'S FLAME-OUT GOOD FOR THE KINGS : KINGS 3 CALGARY 0.

Byline: Roger Phillips

Theo Fleury said it hours before the game, and then the Kings and Fleury's Calgary Flames went out and lived it.

``We've changed our system,'' Fleury said Thursday afternoon, ``to a really boring style.''

Thursday night, the Kings stayed awake just long enough to record a 3-0 victory before an announced crowd of 10,334 at the Forum. Luc Robitaille scored two goals, Jozef Stumpel scored one and Jamie Storr made 21 saves, few of them difficult, to record his third shutout this season and the fifth of his career.

``They're only sending one guy hard,'' said defenseman Sean O'Donnell, sporting a five-stitch cut under his right eye courtesy of one of his two fights on the game. ``We were patient. It's frustrating. They have some talented forwards. They play a suffocating trap, but if you gamble, they've got some guys who can put the puck in the net.''

The Kings (16-22-4) didn't gamble often Thursday in improving to 8-2-1 in their last 11 games and moving into a tie with the idle San Jose Sharks for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference.

On the injury front, the Kings regained the services of defenseman Doug Bodger, who had missed six games with a cervical strain and bruised shoulder, but lost winger Craig Johnson to bruised ribs and separated cartilage in the right side of his ribcage. X-rays were negative, and he is listed as day to day.

As for the Flames (14-26-3), they fell to 2-10 in their last 12 games, and it was easy to see why they are struggling to score. Even when trailing, the Flames played passively on offense, preferring to protect goalie Fred Braithwaite and wait for one or two scoring chances that would result in a tying goal.

Calgary has scored only eight goals in their last eight games, and by going 0 for 6 on the power play, they have failed to score in their last 38 opportunities with the man advantage.

The Flames don't play a dump-and-chase style. They just dump. And this is why it was vital for the Kings to score first, so they wouldn't have to spend the rest of the night trying to penetrate the Flames' defense while trailing.

It took a two-man advantage for the Kings to open the scoring, Robitaille recording the 501st goal of his career 3:24 into the game, shooting into a wide-open net off a cross-ice feed from Donald Audette.

``They were really patient,'' Robitaille said. ``That team isn't taking many chances, so it was really important to get the first goal.''

Coach Larry Robinson said, ``It's not a team that comes after you. They wait for you to make a mistake. You can't get caught gambling. We knew we had to be patient leaving the zone. You have to be patient, and try to beat them with speed. If the play isn't there, get it deep and try to beat them down low.''

The Kings had been pretty inoffensive themselves in recent games. They entered the game hoping to snap out of a recent funk that began with two sloppy victories and a lackluster tie and culminated in a dismal 4-0 loss Monday night at San Jose.

Storr was as relieved as anyone when his teammates finally broke open a game in which he could have napped for most of the first 40 minutes.

``I wouldn't say it's difficult to stay in the game,'' Storr said of his long stretches of inactivity. ``But it's tough when it's 1-0 and if you let in a soft one, it's tied.''

The Kings put the game away in the final five minutes, when the Flames finally began to attack, leaving themselves defensively vulnerable. Robitaille scored off an Audette pass on a 2-on-1 with 4:33 to play, and Stumpel scored from the left faceoff circle 26 seconds later. Robitaille, left off the All-Star team this week, has 24 goals, second only to Philadelphia's John LeClair, who has 26.

``The minute they changed their style, we got two quick goals,'' O'Donnell said. ``We were patient, and we got rewarded with two points.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--Color) Calgary's Chris Dingman, right, fights off the Kings' Steve Duchesne in the first period of L.A.'s 3-0 victory.

(2) Kings' Jamie Storr, right, makes one of his 21 saves against Calgary's Jarome Iginla, his third shutout.

Chris Pizzello/Associated Press