PROBERT, 'HAWKS PREVENT KINGS WIN KINGS 2, CHICAGO 2.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

Felix Potvin has carried the Kings the past three weeks, but he'll need help with the heavy lifting of this playoff run.

Potvin stopped eight shots during a four-minute power play midway through the third period Saturday night against Chicago, even watched fellow French Canadian Eric Belanger give the Kings a brief lead with a shorthanded goal.

But in one brief flurry with less than four minutes to play, veteran Bob Probert picked up a loose puck in front of the net and beat Potvin to give the Blackhawks a 2-2 tie in front a sellout crowd of 18,118 at Staples Center.

``Felix was the best player on the ice tonight,'' Kings coach Andy Murray said. ``You would like your goalie to be that every night and he has been very good for us. It was a shame we couldn't have gotten him the victory.''

The Kings were that close to their seventh in the last 10 games. They still moved within four points of idle Edmonton, which dropped to eighth in the Western Conference race after Phoenix tied Montreal. But the Oilers have won seven in a row and the Kings knew they let a precious point get away.

If the Kings (31-27-10), with 13 games to play, wind up short of the playoffs after trading Rob Blake to Colorado, they might point to the Blackhawks. In four meetings between the two teams since early February, Chicago, 10th in the West, has one win and three ties against the Kings.

Playing without top forwards Jozef Stumpel (rib) and Adam Deadmarsh (bruised left hand), the Kings did not have much firepower. In the first two periods, top scorers Luc Robitaille and Ziggy Palffy had just two shots between them.

``I thought our foot soldiers were outstanding tonight,'' Murray said, referring to goals by Belanger and journeyman forward Scott Thomas. ``But we need some of our more high-profile players to do more. They have to take on more responsibility in big games like this.''

Chicago's tying goal was at the 16:08 mark of the third after a collision near the net between Bryan Smolinski and Blackhawks' young center Kyle Calder. The puck popped loose and Probert scored on a wraparound shot past Potvin.

``It was too bad because we had played so hard,'' said Belanger, who scored his first goal in 17 games. ``We've all been working the past three weeks. We got a point, but I felt bad for Felix.''

In overtime, the Blackhawks took two penalties, including one for too many men on the ice with less than a minute to play. The Kings applied pressure on their former teammate, Steve Passmore, but it was not enough.

Potvin, who has been brilliant since coming over from Vancouver three weeks ago, stopped 26 of 28 shots in regulation and four more in overtime. He never was better than after Glen Murray went off on a double minor in the third for tripping and unsportsmanlike conduct.

But one shot by Jaroslav Spacek struck Belanger's stick and the rookie Kings center found himself with 90 feet of ice between himself and a game-winning goal.

Belanger, one of the pleasant surprises in the Kings' recent resurgence, skated in on Passmore and score on a back-hander.

Belanger's eighth goal of the season was the highlight for the Kings, who now have just two losses in their last 10 games. But until Belanger scored, Potvin had been the hero by stopping seven shots.

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Photo: Chicago Blackhawks forward Jean-Yves Leroux, left, battles for the puck with Kings defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky on Saturday.

John Hayes/Associated Press