SELANNE, DUCKS HAVE KINGS' NUMBER AGAIN : DUCKS 4, KINGS 2.

Byline: Roger Phillips

The Kings finally managed to find some holes in Guy Hebert late Thursday night.

But they found them too late.

Down three goals to the Mighty Ducks on home ice in a crucial game, the Kings suddenly awoke in the third period.

First, Donald Audette scored on a power play with 8:23 to play.

Then, capitalizing on his speed, Russ Courtnall beat two Ducks defensemen and goalie Hebert, drawing the Kings to within one with 4:42 to play.

It was as close as the Kings would get, however, as the Ducks held on for a 4-2 victory before a crowd of 12,037 at the Forum.

Teemu Selanne's second goal of the game, with 3:09 to play, ended the Kings' comeback hopes. Jason Marshall and Paul Kariya also scored for the Ducks. Selanne has 39 goals, tying him for the league lead with Ottawa's Alexei Yashin.

The Ducks have won all five meetings with the Kings this season, by a 15-5 margin. On the year, Hebert has stopped 166 of 171 shots by the Kings.

The victory by the Ducks (31-27-11) snapped a four-game winless streak and moved them to within five points of the Phoenix Coyotes in the battle for the fourth playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The loss by the Kings (26-37-5) ended their three-game winning streak and kept them from gaining ground on the idle Calgary Flames, who they trail by five points in the race for the final playoff spot in the West. Making matters worse for the Kings, they lost checking center Sean Pronger indefinitely to a sprained left knee after a first-period collision with the Mighty Ducks' Travis Green.

The Kings had numerous scoring chances during a first period, in which they outshot the Ducks 16-9. But at 14:24, with a delayed penalty on Olli Jokinen being signaled by referee Don Koharski for checking Marshall from behind, Marshall arose, drove to the net and banged in the rebound of a shot by Kariya, giving the Mighty Ducks a 1-0 lead.

In the final minute of the first period, the Kings almost tied the score when a 75-footer by Rob Blake beat Hebert to the glove side but clanked off the right goal post.

Then, 12 seconds into the second period, Blake pulled down Kariya on a breakaway, and Koharski awarded Kariya a penalty shot. Kariya handled the penalty shot in fairly straightforward fashion, firing a point-blank forehand shot that hit goalie Stephane Fiset on the left shoulder and caromed over the net.

It seemed, perhaps, to be the break the Kings needed, especially less than two minutes later, when Glen Murray broke in alone on Hebert. But his shot hit the crossbar and bounded over the net. Before the period was through, another Blake shot would catch the post.

Hebert made some key saves in the game, too, particularly a kick save late in the first period on a Luc Robitaille breakaway.

While Hebert and the goal posts were shutting down the Kings, the Ducks were putting the game away with two power-play goals.

Midway through the second period, Selanne got behind Sean O'Donnell and scored off a pass from Marty McInnis for a 2-0 lead. The goal snapped a streak of 15 consecutive Mighty Ducks power plays without a goal.

Midway through the third period, Kariya maneuvered around O'Donnell and fired a 30-footer past Fiset.

Audette scored on a similar shot to snap Hebert's shutout bid, and Courtnall then drew the Kings within one when he beat Kevin Haller, then Marshall, then Hebert. But 1:33 later, Selanne scored off a Kariya pass on a 2-on-1. Kariya had four points in the game and Selanne three.

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Photo

PHOTO Doug Bodger of the Kings, right, and the Mighty Ducks' Pascal Trepanier scramble in front of the net of Anaheim goalie Guy Hebert.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press