Kings Are Powered by Hrudey : Hockey: Goalie who was embarrassed in defeat Thursday night beats the New York Rangers, 6-0.

Pulled from the crease to slog off in embarrassment two nights earlier, King goalie Kelly Hrudey came back Saturday night to beat the New York Rangers, 6-0.

He left to what might have sounded like boos to the untrained ear. But the voices were singing out “Hru-u-u-u-dey, Hru-u-u-u-dey.” Music to his ears.

“I heard some boos the other night, and rightfully so,” Hrudey said. “But the crowd warmed to me again tonight, and that means a lot. I love the crowd here. I really enjoyed coming off to the ice to that reaction.”

In honor of his second shutout of the season, Hrudey received a standing ovation from the eighth consecutive sellout crowd of 16,005 at the Forum.

The game wrapped up this trip for the Rangers, who still the lead the Patrick Division at 14-10-5.

The Kings are alone in third place in the Smythe Division at 13-11-2, trailing Calgary and Edmonton.

It was in a game against Edmonton that King Coach Tom Webster had to get Hrudey out and put Mario Gosselin in.

“Everybody is going to have a bad outing now and then, but it was really bad timing,” Hrudey said. “It’s unfortunate that it had to be against them.”

But, Hrudey said, it takes him less than 24 hours to shake off a disastrous night like that. “There’s no sense in going home pouting and breaking vases,” he said. “You just get up in the morning in a good mood and come back. It’s what you have to show your teammates.”

Webster had no doubt that Hrudey would come back strong. He had no qualms about starting him.

And after Hrudey had stopped 35 shots, Webster said: “A quality goaltender like Kelly will come back. He was sharp. He deserved the shutout.”

One of Hrudey’s most impressive stops was an early glove save on a shot by Ranger right winger Brian Mullen. Hrudey said the save really “pumped him up.”

Mullen said: “He was definitely on his game tonight. Everything that went toward the net, he was there.”

And Ranger Coach Roger Neilson said: “He was great. He stopped the tip-ins and the screens and put on a really good goalkeeping exhibition tonight.”

But, all in all, Neilson didn’t think the game was all that one-sided. “All I know is that it was not a 6-0 game,” he said. “We outshot them, had more chances.”

The Kings took 31 shots at John Vanbiesbrouck and scored on six.

Luc Robitaille and John Tonelli provided the finishing touches in the third period. Robitaille had two goals in the final period, scoring off a centering pass from Bernie Nicholls and then adding a power play goal.

The Kings were 1-2 on the power play. Better than the Rangers’ 0-4.

The Kings very carefully avoided giving the Rangers a power play in the first period. Indeed, they had read the scouting report.

Friday night, the Rangers had won at Vancouver--ending a streak of three consecutive losses on the road--when John Ogrodnick scored two power play goals in the final minutes.

“We had really studied their power play,” Webster said. “We were also aware that they were on an extended trip, so we wanted to take the game to them.”

The Kings did that.

Jay Miller, one of the few designated tough guys the Kings have since trading Ken Baumgartner, scored his first goal of the season to give the Kings a 1-0 lead at 7:26 of the first period.

Miller was skating through the slot when Wayne Gretzky sent a perfect pass across from the top of the right circle. Miller got his stick down to stop the pass and the puck dribbled off into the left corner of the net past a slow-to-react Vanbiesbrouck.

The Kings scored two more goals in the second period to take a 3-0 lead.

Marty McSorley scored on a slap shot through the slot. And Nicholls took a pass from Robitaille to score from the left faceoff circle. But the Kings seemed to lose track of their game plan toward the end of the second period, picking up a series of penalties that gave the Rangers a five-on-three advantage at the end of the second period and the start of the third.

The Kings killed the penalty on Mikko Makela for holding at 12:21 of the second period. And they eventually killed the penalties that overlapped--an interference penalty on Tim Watters at 18:18 and an interference penalty on Barry Beck at 19:39.

Ranger Kelly Kisio said of Hrudey: “It was a good thing for the New York Rangers when he was traded from the Islanders, because he played like that almost every game we played him. A lot of times, he’s the difference in the game.”

Neilson said: “I think getting Hrudey was a good deal for them because when you’ve got a guy like that, you’ve got a chance to win a playoff series against anybody.”

King Notes

The Kings will play an exhibition Monday night against Khimik, a team from the Soviet Union’s Elite League. . . . Before leaving on a nine-day, six-game trip, the Kings will play at the Forum on Wednesday. . . . Marty McSorley’s goal Saturday night gave him five goals in the last seven games. . . . The Kings are 7-6 at home.