[0] KINGS STILL MAKING THE RIGHT MOVES WIN OVER ISLANDERS PUSHES UNBEATEN STREAK TO SEVEN KINGS 5, N.Y. ISLANDERS 1.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

Andy Murray doesn't like the word confidence. He thinks his Kings should play this well every night.

Well, don't tell the coach, but that was his team strutting past the New York Islanders on Thursday night with a 5-1 victory that ran their unbeaten streak to seven games.

Not only is it the longest run without a loss in Murray's one-plus seasons running the Kings, it also has energized a team that has not dropped a game since Oct. 31 in Columbus.

Things looked pretty bleak then, a loss to an expansion team. But since then, the Kings have made all the right moves.

Murray put struggling Bryan Smolinski at left wing on the first line for the first time and Smolinski responded with a first-period goal that gave the Kings all the bounce they needed.

He watched Glen Murray, his talented but erratic right winger, give the Kings a 2-0 lead in the second period.

And even after the Islanders scored just 19 into the third period - their first goal in almost three complete games - the suddenly sparkling Jamie Storr took care of the rest.

Less than a minute after Mariusz Czerkawski scored to make it 3-1 Kings, Storr turned away an almost certain goal when Mark Parrish had an open net in front. That's the way it has been going.

Just three weeks ago, the St. Louis Blues erased a four-goal in the third period at Staples Center and got a 4-4 tie out of a certain loss. The Blues' first goal came in the first minute of the third period and the Kings looked rattled.

Thursday, they looked like it was no big deal.

Even late in the game when it was New York's time to turn on the pressure, the Kings kept coming.

With 4:18 left, Luc Robitaille took apass outside the slot and beat Flaherty for his eighth goal of the season.

It gave the Staples Center crowd of 14,744 a charge and gave the Kings the same margin of victory they enjoyed two weeks ago when they defeated the Islanders in New York.

But it wasn't enough. Mathieu Schneider scored a short-handed with 1:40 remaining.

During their recent run, the Kings ( 10-6-4) have tied elite teams Phoenix and Detroit, beaten Atlanta, New Jersey and Vancouver. They'll be tested Saturday in a home matinee against Colorado, the No. 1 team in the Western Conference.

The Kings took a 1-0 lead at the 15:30 mark of the first period. Jozef Stumpel, who centers the first line, picked up the puck at center ice and threaded a pass to Smolinski, who did the rest.

Smolinski broke in on Islanders goaltender Wade Flaherty and tucked a backhand between his pads.

Midway through the second period, the Kings made it 2-0 when Vishnovsky broke past the New York defense at the blue line and beat There was a scary moment in the second period when former Kingsdefenseman Garry Galley was struck on the side of the head by a slap shot from the corner. He was helped off the ice and received a warm ovation from the crowd.

Galley was diagnosed with a concussion and did not return.

Two-goal leads always scare Murray because teams tend to let down a little and have trouble regaining momentum if it becomes a one-goalgame.

Glen Murray seemed to take care of that relieve the stress at the 16:13 mark of the second in the period when he redirected a bla For Murray, it was his seventh goal of the year. Like Smolinski, Murray has a habit of disappearing during parts of games and sea

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Photo: Center Oleg Kvasha (12) of the New York Islanders moves the puck around Kings defenseman Jere Karalahti Thursday night at Staples Center.

John Hayes/Associated Press