[0] KINGS POWERLESS IN PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE L.A. FAILS TO SET DECEMBER RECORD; POTVIN PULLED N.Y. RANGERS 5, KINGS 4.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

The recent era of good feelings for goalkeeper Felix Potvin officially ended in the second period Saturday night, and with it went the Kings' chance to bring a happy end to the calendar year.

Potvin was pulled after he gave up four goals on 16 shots, and the Kings faltered on the power play in a 5-4 loss to the New York Rangers in front of a sellout crowd of 18,420 at Staples Center.

The Kings had a chance to finish with the most points in the month of December in franchise history, but even with New York's leading goal scorer, Eric Lindros, out of the lineup, the Kings couldn't contain the speedy Rangers. Lindros, who has a history of concussions, left Friday's game against San Jose after a hard hit.

Potvin had not allowed more than three goals in a game since the last time he was pulled (Nov. 20 at Calgary), a span of 11 games. But when Manny Malhotra scored a short-handed goal 12 minutes, 27 seconds into the second period on a relatively easy wrist shot, Kings coach Andy Murray had seen enough.

Jamie Storr came on and saved five of six shots, but goaltending was far from the Kings' only problem. The Rangers entered the game as the worst team in the NHL on the penalty kill, but the Kings could not score on any of their seven power-play attempts.

The Kings put consistent pressure on New York goalkeeper Mike Richter in the third period but the Rangers only extended their lead when Andreas Johansson scored with 5:21 remaining.

Steve Heinze scored with 1:09 remaining and the Kings' net empty, and Bryan Smolinski added another in the final few seconds as the Kings finished with 35 shots.

Malhotra's goal was the backbreaker. The Kings had pulled to 3-2 on a goal by Aaron Miller 7:40 into the second period, and the Kings had an excellent chance to tie the game when New York's Steve McKenna went off for a double-minor high-sticking penalty.

Less than two minutes into the penalty, however, Malhotra took a pass from Dave Karpa at center ice, skated down the left side and beat Potvin to his stick side with a wrist shot from the middle of the faceoff circle.

The Rangers already had scored 1:24 into the second period when Petr Nedved scored with assists from Matthew Barnaby and Sylvain Lefebvre. The Kings answered 41 seconds later when Adam Deadmarsh picked up a loose puck in front of the net and beat Richter.

Fifty seconds later, Johansson's shot was easily deflected by Potvin, but the puck bounced to Mikael Samuelsson, who fired it past Potvin for a 3-1 lead.

The Kings, playing their third game in four nights, struggled to keep pace with the speedy Rangers from the start and were outshot 8-2 to begin the game. The Kings did not record their first shot on goal until almost six minutes into the period.

New York also took control on the scoreboard early, as Mike York controlled the puck behind the net, then fed a centering pass to Jeff Toms, who beat Potvin with a one-time wrist shot 3:24 into the game for a 1-0 Rangers lead.

The Kings accomplished next to nothing on their three first-period power plays and totaled just three shots, as their only two strong scoring chances came at even strength.

Midway through the period, Deadmarsh brought the puck into the Rangers' zone, left it for Smolinski and cut to the net. Smolinski fed Deadmarsh from behind the net, but Deadmarsh shot wide of Richter.

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Photo:

(color) The Kings' Craig Johnson sprawls against the boards Saturday with the New York Rangers' Brian Leetch on top of him.

Edna T. Simpson/Staff Photographer