KINGS FIND A WAY TO GET HEALTHY DESPITE SHORT-HANDED ROSTER, L.A. RALLIES TO BEAT DALLAS IN OT KINGS 3, DALLAS 2 (OT).

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

There's a running joke about Kings assistant coach Mark Hardy, and how injuries might force Hardy, a former NHL defenseman who remains in top shape at age 46, to suit up for the Kings some night.

Hardy should have had his agent on the phone with general manager Dave Taylor on Monday.

A season full of frustrating injuries reached its apex Monday when the Kings didn't even have enough healthy bodies to fill out a complete lineup sheet. But, despite playing with five defensemen instead of the normal six, they rallied late from a two-goal deficit, capped by Mattias' Norstrom's winning goal with 2:29 left in overtime to defeat the Dallas Stars 3-2 in front of 18,118 at Staples Center.

The Kings trailed 2-0 when Lubomir Visnovsky beat Dallas goalie Marty Turco with 0.7 seconds left in the second period with the Kings on a 5-on-3 power play. Visnovsky struck again, sending the game into overtime behind his second goal of the game with 28.6 seconds left in regulation.

The Kings extended their lead over the Stars to four points in the Pacific Division, despite having 10 skaters out of the lineup because of illness and various injuries.

But they officially started the second half of their season on a rough note. They learned Monday morning that Sean Avery wouldn't be available because of injury. Then, shortly before the game, it was announced that defenseman Nathan Dempsey had flu-like symptoms and couldn't play.

That left the Kings one man shorthanded, and it became two men when Dustin Brown left the game after the first period, not to return, after a big hit from Dallas forward Brendan Morrow.

Then there was the matter of the Kings' active roster, which featured such non-notables as Noah Clarke, Matt Ryan and Petr Kanko, who played significant minutes out of necessity.

Add to that mix the Dallas Stars, out for revenge after losing three of their first four games against the Kings this season, and the Kings' challenge couldn't have been much more difficult.

Kings goalie Mathieu Garon continued his strong play with a handful of tough saves in the first period and couldn't shoulder much blame when the Stars took a 1-0 lead with 1:38 left in the period.

That's when Dallas defenseman Sergei Zubov, deep in his own zone, bombed a pass to the opposite blue line, right onto the stick of Jussi Jokinen in a play that would have been a two-line pass last season.

Now it's simply a great pass, and it led to an easy goal as Jokinen, who had gotten behind the Kings' defense, skated in alone and beat Garon with a wrist shot.

Things didn't get much better for the Kings. Fifteen seconds later, Brown left the game after a big hit from Morrow, and the one-goal deficit at the end of the period was an ominous sign, since Dallas entered the game with a 15-0 record this season when it held the lead after one period.

Dallas extended its lead 9:40 into the second period. Niko Kapanen picked up a loose puck on the right boards and centered a pass to Jon Klemm, who beat Garon with a shot to the far post.

The Kings, shorthanded and generally outmanned, hung tough, and their hard work paid off late in the period. Michael Cammalleri drew a hooking penalty on Dallas' John Erskine, and five seconds later, the Stars took another penalty when Zubov shot the puck out of play for a delay-of-game penalty.

Visnovsky's slap shot beat Turco in the final second and pulled the Kings within 2-1.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) The Kings' Luc Robitaille gets checked by the Stars' Trevor Daley.

(2) The Kings' Tom Kostopoulos mixes it up with the Stars' Brendan Morrow in the first period of Monday's game at Staples Center.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer