KINGS REACH PLAYOFFS VIA SAN JOSE L.A. LOSES, BUT SHARKS ELIMINATE COYOTES TO OPEN THE DOOR VANCOUVER 3, KINGS 2.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

VANCOUVER - The Kings didn't want to leave it to the blinking lights from the out-of-town scoreboard. But after 81 games they know better than anyone that reaching the playoffs is never easy.

Their 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night qualified them for their second consecutive trip to the postseason only after San Jose eliminated Phoenix a half hour after their game ended.

``I couldn't watch,'' said Kings coach Andy Murray, who closed the dressing room for his players until the Sharks' 3-0 victory ended. ``The players are so excited. We all are. We came back from so far this year. But after our game, I just couldn't watch.''

It mattered little for a team that was reborn the past six weeks under the steady hand of goaltender Felix Potvin after withering for five distracting months before captain Rob Blake was traded.

They certainly weren't going to let Harold Druken's overtime goal upset all they had accomplished. At the end of February, they were in 11th place and trailed Vancouver by 12 points.

They wanted to qualify on Thursday with a win but could have gotten in with a victory Saturday in Calgary.

Playoff seedings still are up for grabs. The Kings and Canucks each have 90 points with one game remaining. The Kings have 37 victories, one more than Vancouver, which finishes Saturday against Edmonton.

The Kings right now are seventh and would face Detroit in a rematch of last year's opening-round sweep by Detroit. If Vancouver wins Saturday and the Kings lose to the Flames and drop to eighth, they would face Colorado, Blake's new team.

``Right now, we're savoring this,'' Luc Robitaille said. ``We belong. We've played so hard, we can be proud of this. When things were so close the last month, we never backed down.''

Things could not have been much closer, not with Vancouver still fighting for a spot even after winning just once in its previous 15 games. The Kings, who got goals from Steve Kelly and Adam Deadmarsh, were 20 minutes from winning outright, but Druken scored his first goal in the first minute of the third period.

Add the presence of Potvin, the former Canucks goaltender/late-season savior for the Kings (37-29-13-3) and the sellout crowd of 18,422 at GM Place crackled after every slap shot and hip check.

When Druken nearly scored during the first minute of overtime in front of Potvin, the place almost came off its hinges. When Druken did beat Potvin 1:41 later, it did.

``We didn't win, but I don't know if I've ever had more fun in the last four or five games,'' defenseman Mattias Norstrom said. ``We had a feeling three weeks ago that the season was going to come down to this game. That's when we said, 'It's time to get it done.' `'

The Kings almost got it done with 4.33 to play in regulation on a slap shot by Mathieu Schneider that hit Canucks goaltender Bob Essensa, then hit the post.

But even with the victory, the Canucks also had to wait until the end of the Sharks-Coyotes game to see if they were in. Much of the crowd lingered, waiting for good news.

Before the game, the Canucks brought out injured captain and leading scorer Markus Naslund on crutches to accept a citation for his charity work. It was an emotional scene and players from both teams tapped their sticks on the ice, hockey's universal sign of affection and respect.

But the sight of their captain gave the Canucks a boost they haven't had since Naslund broke his leg two weeks ago.

They scored just 33 seconds into the game on a blast from the top of the right circle by defenseman Brent Sopel. This, after scoring just eight goals during their recent seven-game winless streak.

``It was that kind of night for everyone,'' Canucks coach Marc Crawford said. ``Everyone was a winner.''

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Photo:

(color) Kings goalie Felix Potvin is pressured by the Canucks' Denis Pederson.

Chuck Stoody/Associated Press