Hrudey Saves His Best for Last : Hockey: Goalie stops shot by MacInnis with 10 seconds left as Kings defeat Flames, 4-3, and get within one point of second place.

It began on a low note for goalie Kelly Hrudey, the puck bouncing off him for a first-period goal that never should have happened.

But it ended on an emotional high Saturday night at the Forum, Hrudey in his crouch staring eyeball to eyeball with the Calgary Flames’ Al MacInnis, owner of the hardest shot in hockey.

MacInnis whipped his stick back and fired from the right circle. Hrudey didn’t let this one get by, his pads absorbing the blow.

Ten seconds later, the final buzzer sounded with the Kings holding on for a 4-3 victory before a sellout crowd of 16,005.

Hrudey raised his arms in exultation. He had survived.

And so had his team.

Despite all the struggles, the losses, the injuries and the suspensions, the Kings, with a five-game unbeaten streak, have suddenly moved to within a point of second place in the Smythe Division. Saturday’s victory improved them to 19-19-10 and 2-0-3 over their last five.

“Can you believe it?” Hrudey said of the Kings’ position behind both Calgary (21-20-7) and the Winnipeg Jets (20-21-9). “It’s unimaginable. As poorly as we’ve played, it’s shocking.”

Not to Wayne Gretzky.

“I kept saying we were not as far back as people think,” he said. “We seem to have stuck together through the adversity and now we have a positive atmosphere.”

Corey Millen’s goal at 15:39 of the final period, his ninth of the season, proved the difference.

The Flames’ Sergei Makarov made it close with his 11th goal with 59 seconds to play.

Calgary’s first score was a goalie’s nightmare for Hrudey. Trent Yawney’s shot bounced off one of Hrudey’s forearm pads. He tried to cradle the puck with his left arm, but it slipped loose, bounced behind him and rolled into the net for Yawney’s third goal.

Even as the red light went on, Hrudey was still frantically searching for the puck, unaware it had reached its final destination.

After having scored on one of their previous nine power-play attempts over three games, the Kings doubled that total Saturday night.

And both times, it was Luc Robitaille who took advantage, getting his 22nd and 23rd goals.

Jari Kurri accounted for the Kings’ other goal with his 18th of the season.

Kurri also accounted for Calgary’s other goal when Tomas Forslund’s second-period shot caromed off Kurri’s stick and past Hrudey for Forslund’s fifth goal.

The gloves came off in the third period with more bodies flying than pucks. One brawl alone resulted in seven game misconducts and a total of 84 penalty minutes assessed.

But, in the end, it came down to Hrudey and MacInnis. And what goes through your mind if you’re Hrudey?

“You just hope,” the King goalie said, “that he doesn’t hit it as hard as he normally does.

“I had a good look at it, but sometimes that doesn’t matter.”

It did Saturday because Hrudey didn’t let his dismal start damage his confidence, a confidence mirrored by his teammates over the past few games.

“If you don’t play with confidence,” Gretzky said, “you can’t play. You’ve got to believe in the guy next to you.”

If they can keep it up, the Kings may yet make believers out of many who have come to doubt them.

King Notes

All remains quiet on the Adam Oates front. Although the St. Louis Blues center has returned to the lineup, giving up for now his battle to have his contract renegotiated, St. Louis management is still reportedly weighing trade offers. According to a source with the Blues, the Kings turned down a deal that would have included Oates, defenseman Jeff Brown and one additional player for forward Tony Granato and defensemen Marty McSorley and Rob Blake. King General Manager Rogie Vachon wouldn’t concede such a deal was even offered although earlier in the week he did say the Blues’ asking price for Oates was “too steep.” . . . King wing Tomas Sandstrom is still at least a week away from even picking up a stick in practice. Sandstrom has missed 13 games because of a partially dislocated shoulder. He has resumed skating but still reports soreness in the shoulder. . . . Winner of $20,000 from Ronald McDonald’s Children’s Charities for his work with kids, the Kings’ Luc Robitaille presented $10,000 of that money in a Saturday pregame ceremony to the Children’s Bureau of Los Angeles, an organization that works with victims of child abuse.