Potvin, Giguere Bounce Back

Felix Potvin of the Kings and Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Ducks, two shell-shocked goaltenders, skated once more into the crease Saturday.

Potvin gave up seven goals on 17 shots Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers. Giguere gave up six goals on 24 shots before he yielded to rookie Gregg Naumenko late in an 8-0 loss Wednesday to the Dallas Stars.

Neither King Coach Andy Murray nor Duck Coach Guy Charron had any doubts about sending their goalies into action Saturday. Potvin started 15 consecutive game since he was acquired Feb. 15 from the Vancouver Canucks. Giguere started his 19th in a row since taking over from Guy Hebert as the Ducks’ No. 1 goalie.

Each goalie rebounded from Wednesday’s one-sided losses and the teams tied, 3-3, Saturday.

Potvin made a terrific sliding save on Duck captain Paul Kariya in overtime, perhaps the best of his 20 saves. Giguere stopped King winger Luc Robitaille on a third-period breakaway and denied winger Adam Deadmarsh in overtime for two of his 36 saves.

“[Samuel] Pahlsson passed it across and I knew there was a shooter there,” Potvin said of thwarting Kariya. “I tried to get across as quickly as I could.”

Said Giguere of stopping Deadmarsh: “I saw him coming into the play late. I knew a pass was coming across to him. I focused on the puck and put my body in front of it. Hit me right in the knees.”

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Giguere put the Ducks in a bad spot late in the third period, although from the looks of it, he was wrongly accused of delay of the game by referees Conrad Hache and Shane Heyer.

Seeking to clear a puck from behind his net, Giguere lobbed a pass off the glass in the corner to his right. The puck then ricocheted over the glass and into the crowd.

After a brief conference, Hache and Heyer determined that the puck had not struck the glass and Giguere would be penalized.

“I’m pretty sure it hit the glass,” Giguere said. “[The referees] said there wasn’t a wet mark on the glass. They said it didn’t hit the glass. I really put us in trouble for a while.”

The Kings failed to break a 3-3 while on the ensuing power play, however. The Ducks also killed off a boarding penalty against defenseman Antti-Jussi Niemi that extended 1:11 into the five-minute overtime period.

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Bodies continue to limp to the sidelines for the Kings.

Already without defenseman Aaron Miller (sprained left wrist), center Steve Kelly (strained back) and winger Scott Thomas (concussion), they lost center Eric Belanger to a bruised upper body.

Belanger played 4 minutes 36 seconds in the first period, but took only one shift in the second. He was injured when Duck defenseman Ruslan Salei delivered a heavy hit in the opening period.

“We’re getting buried here a little bit,” Murray said.