STANLEY CUP FINALS : Sydor Is Just Late by a Tad for Kings : Last play: Hustling King tries to stop winning goal, but helps it go in.

Darryl Sydor never hesitated.

He knew fellow King defenseman Rob Blake was supposed to jump on the ice.

But he also knew that the Montreal Canadiens had control of the puck.

And the situation.

Deep into overtime Monday night at the Forum, Montreal was starting a two-on-one rush that could result in sudden death for Sydor’s team.

He took one last look at Blake, saw the defenseman was still not on the ice and took the initiative himself.

He jumped onto the ice, cutting in front of his teammate, dug his skates in deep and raced to his own zone to do what he could to help.

“I tried to gain some ice,” Sydor said.

By the time Sydor arrived in the Kings’ crease, the situation had gone from dangerous to desperate.

Montreal’s John LeClair had kept the puck himself on the two-on-one rush and fired a shot that was blocked by goaltender Kelly Hrudey.

“He (LeClair) first tried to pass,” Hrudey said, “but our defense took it away.”

In making the block, Hrudey slid outside the crease.

But by the time Sydor reached the net, LeClair had retrieved the rebound, saw Hrudey still down, struggled back to the open net and was about to smash in the game-winner.

“I lost my footing,” Hrudey said. “I didn’t think he (LeClair) was going to be able to get it back.”

What could Sydor do?

He did the only thing he could, diving into the net to play makeshift goalie.

“I went down to block it,” Sydor said, “and it went in off my shin pad.”

Although he had gone from bench-sitter to near game-saver in a matter of seconds, Sydor somehow decided the blame for the loss was his.

“I let the team down,” he said, eyes downcast as he talked to an army of reporters after the crushing defeat. “That would have been a huge win. We would have had momentum.”

Hrudey admitted he never even saw Sydor make his move or LeClair twist his stick and shoot as Hrudey lay on the ice.

So how did Hrudey feel when the red light went on?

“Like everybody else in the building,” he said.

But there were no downcast eyes for this 12-year veteran. He tried to salvage whatever positive vibes he could muster.

“We’re not conceding anything,” Hrudey said. “We just want to win. We just want to find a way to win. This is not a time for negatives. I haven’t played professional hockey for 12 years to be a quitter. Quitters come and go. I want to stay.”

Hrudey just smiled when told that Patrick Roy, his Montreal counterpart, had vowed not to give up a goal in the overtime.

“People always say that,” Hrudey said. “Sometimes they make their word good and sometimes they get scored on. What’s the big deal?”

Hrudey took umbrage when asked if he is proud of this Kings’ team.

“I’m not going to get into that,” he said. “That makes it sound like a eulogy. We’re still trying to win. We’re not proud of anything yet.”

Nor would he concede that the end is near.

“We’re in every game,” he said. “We’re right there. Something just seems to prohibit us right at the end.”