[0] GRETZKY HELPS PUT FINAL DAGGER INTO KINGS' SIDE : N.Y. RANGERS 5 KINGS 1.

Byline: Earl Bloom Orange County Register

Bad news always seems to come in double doses for the Kings this season. They not only lost another game Thursday, their sixth in a row, they lost another player.

Earlier in the day, the Kings learned they would be without right wing Russ Courtnall for four to six weeks because of a broken right ankle after he was struck by a puck Tuesday at San Jose.

Then the formerly goal-starved New York Rangers scored three times in the first period en route to a 5-1 drubbing of the Kings in front of the 16,005 who dropped in to see what, in all likelihood, was Wayne Gretzky's final game at The Forum.

``Not a very good effort, was it?'' Kings coach Larry Robinson said after his injury-riddled team played its third game in four nights and looked the part. ``It's very disappointing. We just looked like we were carrying pianos around . . . They're tired, dead tired.''

While The Forum is the scene of Robinson's recurring nightmare, it was Gretzky's hockey home from October 1988 to February 1996, and he got to leave its ice as a winner one last time.

He got an assist in the third period when Alexei Kovalev put in his rebound. It extended Gretzky's point-scoring streak to six games (one goal, eight assists).

``It's a building I'll never forget and a time I'll never forget,'' Gretzky said, referring to his Kings interlude.

No. 99 has given no hints of retirement. But the Kings will abandon this building to move into the new Staples Center next season. And a 1999 Stanley Cup Final between the Kings (5-12-3) and the Rangers (5-8-5) that would put Gretzky back on Inglewood ice is a longshot of longshots at this juncture.

The Kings not only lost Courtnall and right wing Sandy Moger (who aggravated his strained back in the first period), they also will surely lose left wing Matt Johnson to a lengthy suspension after he drew a match penalty at 12:39 of the third period for punching Rangers defenseman Jeff Beukeboom from behind, knocking him dazed to the ice. Johnson was apparently retaliating for a Beukeboom hit on the Kings' Glen Murray earlier in the period.

The Rangers snapped a two-game losing streak and won for only the second time in eight games (2-4-2) despite having played the night before in Anaheim.

New York had gone 0 for 10 on the power play against the Mighty Ducks and had scored only 39 goals in 17 games. But rookie Manny Malhotra quickly put the Rangers up, converting Mike Knuble's drop pass at 3:35 of the first period for his fourth career goal.

Malhotra, 18, was yet to be born when Gretzky first skated professionally for the WHA's Indianapolis Racers in 1978.

Kovalev, camped next to the crease during a power play, converted Niklas Sundstrom pass at 6:43 of the first to give New York a 2-0 lead. It was Kovalev's first goal - amazing in itself, since he plays on Gretzky's line - and the chance came when Kings defenseman Sean O'Donnell fanned on a clearing attempt.

Adam Graves made it 3-0 with a long wrist shot that went through Kings defenseman Visheau's legs at 13:28, completing New York's early three-goal barrage of beleaguered rookie goalie Manny Legace.

Notes: Courtnall was placed on injured reserve, and the Kings replaced him on the roster by claiming center Brandon Convery, 24, off waivers from Vancouver. Convery (a 1992 Toronto first-round pick) had two goals and seven assists in 12 games for the Canucks. He was in the building Thursday but not in uniform. Convery will probably make his Kings debut Saturday night against Chicago at The Forum. . . . No. 1 goalie Stephane Fiset, who hasn't played since Oct. 18 because of a groin strain, might also be in the lineup against the Blackhawks. . . . Courtnall is the fourth player the Kings have lost to a broken bone: Defensemen Rob Blake (right foot) and Doug Bodger (left hand) are still out, but Visheau (left thumb) has returned.

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Photo

Photo: Rangers' Alexei Kovalev watches the puck trickle across the goal line with Kings' Sean O'Donnell and goalie Manny Legace watching.

John Hayes/Associated Press