STARS COME TO PLAY GARON, ROENICK HELP KINGS TO WIN VS. DALLAS KINGS 1, DALLAS 0.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

In recent days, the Kings' future has become increasingly clear, and it hasn't been a pretty picture.

With eight games left in the season, five points between themselves and eighth-place Edmonton, and the juggernaut Dallas Stars in town, the Kings' hopes of making the playoffs seemed dim at best Saturday.

``Is it impossible? No. Can it be done? Yeah,'' team captain Mattias Norstrom said, and with that rallying cry, the Kings took to the ice and attempted to give themselves a compelling reason to believe.

And who better to spark some hope than Mathieu Garon and Jeremy Roenick, both of whom have struggled for most of this season? Roenick scored a first-period goal Saturday night and Garon played a solid game as the Kings led the Stars 1-0 in the third period in front of 18,118 at Staples Center.

For one night, the Kings could dwell on the positives, of which there were several.

Start with Roenick, who was expected to be a major offensive contributor this season but whose $4.9-million salary had brought only eight goals and 10 assists entering Saturday.

Roenick certainly made an impact Saturday. Sean Avery, behind the net, fed a centering pass to Roenick, who beat Dallas goalie Johan Hedberg 10:21 into the game to give the Kings a 1-0 lead.

Four of Roenick's goals this season have come against Dallas, including two in the season opener.

Before the game, interim coach John Torchetti spoke of the need for the Kings' goaltenders ``to win us games by themselves,'' and word must have gotten back to Garon.

Garon entered the game having allowed at least four goals in seven of his past eight starts, which included a recent trend of poor starts, but Garon had made 18 saves through two periods and looked strong.

Garon certainly fared better than his previous start against Dallas, on March 16, when he allowed four goals on 23 shots and was pulled. Saturday's game might have been his best of the season.

Based on available manpower, the game felt more like an exhibition than an intense late-season battle.

Injuries cost Dallas two of its top three scorers, Mike Modano and Sergei Zubov, and the Kings played without Derek Armstrong, Eric Belanger, Pavol Demitra, Nathan Dempsey and Aaron Miller.

Belanger was a surprise scratch, caused by an apparent concussion he suffered Thursday in Edmonton, an the Kings lost Craig Conroy in the first period after he was hit in the face by a puck. Conroy returned at the start of the second period, wearing a visor, giving him a chance to practice what he had preached.

With the Kings in a tailspin, Conroy stressed the importance of having fun, of not dwelling too much on mistakes and focusing on the moment at hand instead of trying to do too much at once.

``We have to play and have fun,'' Conroy said before the game. ``Nobody wants to make a mistake and nobody wants to be the reason we lose, but you can't play that way.

``We can't worry about making mistakes. Were trying to do so much and getting out of our comfort zones. ... Everybody wants to change the whole momentum, but we just need to win one shift.''

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

The Kings' Jeff Cowan, left, delivers a check to Dallas' Steve Ott during the second period Saturday.

Niklas Larsson/Associated Press