Cheap shot pays off

NHL teams

The Kings had a 3-0 lead in the third period and were on the verge of their first victory in the series when St. Louis' Geoff Courtnall took a blatant run on Kings goalie Jamie Storr who had been playing phenomenonally. Defender Sean O'Donnell rushed to protect his goalie and pummeled Courtnall on the ice.

Referee Don Koharski, who was late on the play, called a major penalty on O'Donnell and on ensuing power-play the Blues scored four times. Koharski said later that he didn't see Courtnall's charge on Storr.

Kings coach Larry Robinson spoke his mind about Koharski's blunder.

"He robbed us of a game, plain and simple," Robinson said. "The guy attempts to injure, runs our goalie. He (Koharski) took the life out of a bunch of kids who worked their tails off. It's an absolute disgrace and he's a veteran official."

In the other action Miroslav Satan scored twice as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-1, to take a surprising 2-1 lead in the series.

Shayne Corson had two goals and the Montreal Canadiens took a lead in their series with a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.