Kings Trail, 3-0, Then Streak Past Rangers, 6-3

Michel Bergeron, the feisty and fiery coach of the New York Rangers, spent three days in the hospital last week with what was diagnosed as a possible ulcer or gallbladder problem.

His doctors told him not to smoke, drink coffee or get excited.

So what did Bergeron do Monday on the Rangers’ flight from New York to Los Angeles?

He smoked, he drank coffee and he fumed at his lack of success in a game of backgammon.

What he saw Tuesday night at the Forum probably wasn’t what his doctors ordered, either.

The Kings sent the slumping Rangers to their fourth straight loss, overcoming a 3-0 second-period deficit to win, 6-3, and end their own two-game losing streak before a crowd of 11,496.

The news wasn’t all good for the Kings, though. Rookie goaltender Glenn Healy was knocked unconscious and had to leave the game in the second period after a shot by the Rangers’ Jim Pavese hit him in the back of the head.

“It felt like I got hit by a baseball bat,” Healy said.

The Rangers know the feeling.

The Kings sent them on their way with a seven-game winless streak, scoring 4 goals in 12 minutes 32 seconds of the second period to wipe out the Rangers’ advantage.

It was only the third time this season the Kings had overcome a three-goal deficit, and the first time they had won after doing so.

“We really didn’t say much,” King Coach Robbie Ftorek said, “but we seemed to get hungrier and more determined and more aggressive, and we cashed in on some opportunities.”

How to explain the six unanswered goals by the Kings?

“We seem to panic when we get a lead,” said Bergeron, whose team is 0-6-1 since beating the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 6. “Everybody seemed to get nervous, and we’re not a young team.

“I can’t explain it.”

The Rangers, playing the first of seven straight road games, opened a 2-0 lead in the first period.

Kelly Kisio increased the Rangers’ lead to 3-0 at 2:43 of the second period, skating down the slot alone after taking a pass from James Patrick and flipping a shot over Healy.

The Kings started their comeback with a goal by Jim Fox, who made a move to get past defenseman David Shaw, skated into the the slot and beat goaltender Bob Froese with a 30-foot shot.

Only 59 seconds later, Paul Fenton took a pass off the left boards from Dave Taylor and fired a 40-foot shot that deflected into the net off Taylor, who had charged down the slot.

Taylor tied the game with 9:14 left in the period, scooping up the rebound of a shot by Bryan Erickson and lifting a shot over Froese, who was sprawled in front of the net.

Soon after that, the Kings lost Healy, who was spun around and knocked to the ice after he became entangled with Taylor and Cyr.

“Cyr came through the crease and took my feet out from under me,” said Healy, who was still dizzy and had a headache after the game.

As he fell, Healy was struck in the back of the head by a low shot off the stick of Pavese, who was about 20 feet from Healy when he shot. Healy was helped off the ice and later treated for a cut and a mild concussion.

The cut near the crown of his head required eight stitches.

Rollie Melanson, who relieved Healy, stopped all 10 shots he faced, holding the Rangers scoreless in the last 23:21. He stopped a shot by Lucien DeBlois on a 2-on-1 Ranger breakaway soon after he entered the game, leading to the Kings’ go-ahead goal.

Steve Duchesne took the rebound and fired the puck up the ice to Robitaille, who brought it down the left side on a 2-on-1 breakaway for the Kings.

Robitaille attempted to pass through the slot to Erickson, but defender Ron Greschner dove to block it, knocking the puck back to Robitaille, whose 15-foot shot from the left circle beat Froese to the stick side.

“It came right back to me,” Robitaille said. “I’ll take those every time and tell you guys (reporters) that I practice it that way.”

With 1:40 left in the period, the Kings led, 4-3.

In the third period, they got goals from Fenton and Bernie Nicholls, whose empty-net goal with 49 seconds left gave him 500 career points.

King Notes

Jerry Buss, who has agreed to sell his 51% interest in the Kings to partner Bruce McNall, said it is wrong to say that he lost interest in hockey. “I’m just too busy,” he told Gordon Edes of The Times. “I’m out there with offers for both football and baseball (teams), and I don’t have time to get those offers in the right form. I had a proposal on my desk in terms of getting another franchise for 2 1/2 months and I’ve been too busy to deal with it. And I’ve had Bruce on the other side, tugging my arm. He really wanted the franchise. The timing was right. It was good for me.” McNall, who will be sole owner of the Kings, said that Buss’ “main thrust” in the next few months will be in attempting to buy the San Diego Padres. McNall also said that he and Buss have determined the King franchise to be worth between $16 million and $20 million.

The Kings, 6-16-3 on the road, open a five-game trip Thursday night at Calgary and play six of their next seven games on the road. . . . Defenseman Jay Wells has not scored a goal in his last 40 games. . . . Former King Marcel Dionne, who has missed 12 of the Rangers’ last 13 games and did not make the trip because of an arthritic condition in his left knee, has not scored an even-strength goal since Nov. 20. He leads the Rangers with 14 power-play goals. . . . Fancy Meeting You Here: Scotty Morrison, trainer for the Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League, played high school hockey against Paul Fenton of the Kings in Springfield, Mass.