[0] STARS COOL OFF LETHARGIC KINGS : DALLAS 5, KINGS 1.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer

It seemed only a matter of time before the Kings, the league leader in goals, would snap out of their lethargy on Saturday night at the Forum.

They never did. And it cost them.

Dallas shut down a team that had scored 14 goals in its previous two games and won 5-1 before an announced crowd - a frustrated crowd - of 13,492.

The Kings, who play Chicago on Thursday to close out their six-game homestand, remain four points behind Colorado and a point ahead of the Mighty Ducks in the Pacific Division. L.A. (9-8-4) is 6-3-1 in its past 10 games.

Dallas (11-6-4) opened the scoring on a power play at 9:14. Benoit Hogue had the puck behind the net and found Pat Verbeek directly in front of goalkeeper Stephane Fiset, who was unable to make the save on a wrist shot by Verbeek.

The Stars made it 2-0 on another power play at 2:38, when Jamie Langenbrunner gathered in a rebound off a shot by Joe Nieuwendyk and slapped it past a sprawled Fiset. That's how the first period ended.

The Kings cut the lead in half on a power-play goal at 7:13 of the second period, when Gary Galley took a pass from Jozef Stumpel and wristed the puck past Stars goalkeeper Ed Belfour from just outside the left circle. It was Galley's fourth goal and second in two games.

Dallas then began to pull away.

At 13:57, Hogue, standing in front of Fiset, redirected a slap shot by Mike Modano to make 3-1 on yet another successful power play, the Stars' third in three tries to that point.

Then came a bungled effort and a three-goal lead with only 46 seconds left in the period, which seemed to take any remaining life out of the Kings. With L.A. on a power play, Craig Johnson tried to pass to Rob Blake inside the Stars' zone, but the puck was intercepted by Jere Lehtinen. Lehtinen passed to a streaking Modano, who found himself leading a three-on-one break with only Galley in the way.

Modano simply held onto the puck and pushed a wrist shot past Fiset at the last second and the Kings were through.

Nieuwendyk scored in the final minutes.

Note: The Kings' quick start is not unusual. In 1995-96, they were 10-5-5 in the first 20 games, 9-8-3 last season. They finished those seasons 24-40-18 and 28-43-11, respectively.

What happened? And what can be expected ths season? Injuries played a key role in team's decline each year. Last season, Kings players missed 344 games.

``One guy kept dropping after another,'' Kings coach Larry Robinson said.

So far, the Kings have had to deal with a number of injuries - Jamie Storr, Ray Ferraro and Vladimir Tsyplakov, are among the victims - but haven't been decimated.

And a significant difference from previous years is the team's depth, which could compensate in the event a key player or players is lost. Offseason additions - Stumpel, Luc Robitaille, Galley, Sandy Moger and Russ Courtnall - have provided the cushion.

Of course, the Kings aren't eager to test this theory. When will Robinson rest easy in regard to injuries? ``In April,'' he said. . . .

Robinson and Co. had no problem with the work ethic or intensity of Brad Smyth, who was traded to the New York Rangers for a draft choice on Friday.

However, they did question his skating ability and decision making.

``I looked at our lineup and just couldn't find a place for him,'' Robinson said. ``If he hadn't gone to New York, he probably would've gone to (the Kings' minor-league affiliate) Long Beach. It was tough: He was almost too good for the (IHL) but not quite good enough for the NHL right now.