COMEBACK KINGS FISET, STUMPEL, MURRAY SPARK WIN OVER AVALANCHE KINGS 3, COLORADO 2.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

Point to the return of Glen Murray and Jozef Stumpel on Sunday afternoon and Kings coach Andy Murray says look at Stephane Fiset instead.

Sure, Murray and Stumpel scored goals in their first game back in weeks, but Andy Murray thought the team's biggest lift in a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche was Fiset, who sat the past three games with hopes his own game would come back.

``No question getting Murray and Stumpel was worth two goals,''Murray said. ``But I think the biggest factor was we had solid goaltending. Steph played very strong for us. When we were putting wins on the board early in the season our goalie was always one of our best players. He was again tonight. That's what we are going to need down the stretch.''

It might have seemed enough to open a game against the Avs with a three-goal lead in the first period, including two by Glen Murray and Stumpel. The sellout crowd of 18,118 at the Staples Center roared continually for Murray, who has been out with a bruised chest muscle, and for the oft-injured Stumpel, who has been sidelined with a torn muscle in his left knee.

But when the Kings dropped into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference after Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, it was clear they would slide even further if they could not keep the other team from scoring.

Even with the victory, they now go on the road to face the Dallas Stars, who have not lost to the Kings in 21 consecutive games. Then it is on to Nashville and Toronto.

``We need everybody,'' said Ziggy Palffy, who opened the scoring with a power-play goal 8:51 into the game. ``The way Steph played for us tonight was so important. It's good to get our lines back in order; we're almost there. But defense is the key.''

Fiset was forced to face four consecutive power-play attempts by Colorado late in the first period and early in the second, including a breakaway by Avalanche center Joe Sakic.

But until Adam Deadmarsh tipped in a blast by Sandis Ozolinsh with 3:26 left in the second, Fiset had stopped them all.

Colorado, which lost just once in its past 11, got a goal by Dave Reid early in the third to cut the lead to 3-2. But that was it.

The Kings are the league's most-penalized team and have not been able to curb their bad habits while trying to re-capture their early-season success. But in this game it looked as if they might have enough offense to win.

Palffy scored first, with Peter Forsberg off for roughing. Rob Blake took a slap shot from the point and Luc Robitaille took a shot off the rebound. But the puck rolled through the crease and Palffy poked it in for his 17th goal.

Murray, who missed three games with a chest contusion, said he was a little nervous before the game. But with 10:48 gone in the period, he scored on his second try after Jere Karalahti's blast from the point.

Injuries to Stumpel, who has missed most of the past 10 weeks with abdominal and knee problems, was the reason the club had taken a hard look at Carolina holdout center Keith Primeau, who was traded Sunday to the Philadelphia Flyers.

One game is not the answer, but the team was encouraged.

``He is so skilled to have him back gives you a great advantage,'' Fiset said. ``He is so important to our team.''

No more so than Fiset. The Kings acknowledge they brought him back too soon from a bruised right hand when Jamie Storr went down with a concussion. He often looked out of sync, letting in a series of bad goals.

``I was making mistakes in practice and they carried over to the games,'' said Fiset, who stopped 21 shots. ``I've had some time off to work on some things in practice without the pressure of playing the games. I think it helped a lot.''

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Photo: Rob Blake of the Kings checks Colorado's Chris Dingman during 3-2 victory over the Avalanche.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer