KINGS MAKE IT LOOK TOO EASY; UNBEATEN STREAK HITS SEVEN : KINGS 3, CHICAGO 0.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer

The Kings are setting a dangerous precedent.

If they continue to play as they have the past three weeks, all interested parties are going to expect as much from them on a regular basis. This from a team that has missed the playoffs the past four seasons.

And it's their own fault.

They did it again before a sellout crowd of 16,005 Saturday afternoon at the Forum, whipping the red-hot Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 to run their unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1), their longest such streak since they opened the 1995-96 season 4-0-3.

They also are four games above .500 for the first time since they were 10-6-5 on Nov. 21, 1995.

And they did it against a team that is no patsy: The Blackhawks, too, have been one of the best teams in the league in recent weeks. They had an 11-4-3 run to pull within two points of the sixth-place Kings in the Western Conference. And they match up well with L.A.

They simply ran into a team that is making a habit of winning for the first time since the Wayne Gretzky years.

``That's a really good team over there,'' Kings coach Larry Robinson said. ``They've been playing well, they put together a pretty good streak. They were, what, 10-3-2 in their last 15?

``. . . To me it was just a total team effort for 60 minutes. They've set the standards. That's something now they have to live up to, not what I have to live up to.''

The fact the Kings (23-19-9) won the game was no great surprise. After all, Chicago (21-22-9) had lost the previous two meetings between the teams (the latter 1-0) and the visitors trailed them in the standings.

It was the way the Kings won - easily, emphatically - that might have been unexpected.

The Blackhawks, one of the most physical teams in the league, came out of the locker room ready to bang bodies. However, that's also the Kings' game. And, these days, no one is doing it better: Chicago was outmuscled.

And that was only the foundation: With the exception of the power play, on which the Kings went 0 for 5, they played a near-flawless game.

They were particularly proficient on defense, allowing the Blackhawks only 21 shots (to their own 38) and forcing goaltender Stephane Fiset to make no more than a few tough saves to earn his second shutout of the season.

``The key is when our D plays solid, moves the puck quickly, our guys got right back in position for (Fiset). I mean, it sounds simple, but it means so much to our game when everybody does their own little part,'' Robinson said.

The initial goal was a dramatic one and a big lift for a team that is now 17-1-1 when it scores first.

With Chicago on a power play, Russ Courtnall stole the puck from Chris Chelios, raced down the ice unimpeded and slapped a shot past goaltender Andrei Trefilov from the left circle at 11:31.

It was the Kings second short-handed goal and all they would need on this day.

Sandy Moger, a healthy scratch the previous two games, took a pass from Ian Laperriere from behind the net and wristed it in from point-blank range to make it 2-0 at 3:16 of the second period.

And Glen Murray, one of the team's hottest players, finished the scoring when he backhanded the puck past Trefilov at 5:54 of third. Murray, who had a remarkable eight shots, has scored goals in four straight games and has 16 overall.

``Glen Murray's been playing terrific hockey,'' Robinson said. ``That whole line (with Jozef Stumpel and Vladimir Tsyplakov) has. He's been using his speed and strength, getting good position, playing well in his zone.

``He's been doing a good job.''

Next up for the Kings are back-to-back road games against Western Conference rivals Edmonton on Monday and Calgary on Tuesday.

They then come home for a game against Gretzky and the New York Rangers - who have eight fewer points than the Kings - on Thursday and then play the Mighty Ducks next Saturday at the Pond before the 2-1/2-week Olympic break.

``This (streak) is good timing,'' said Fiset, who missed the last game with a thigh bruise. ``It's coming just before the Olympic break. . . . After the break, we don't know how the teams are going to come out.

``If we can continue to play like this, maybe catch Phoenix (which is up by three points), we'll be in good shape.''

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Photo

PHOTO (Color) Russ Courtnall celebrates after beating the Blackhawks' Andrei Trefilov with the first goal of the game.

Associated Press