Gretzky Gets Second Wind, Kings Don’t : Hockey: He recovers from blow to the stomach but Winnipeg sweeps past L.A., 5-2.

In a season that seems to be rapidly collapsing on the Kings, this would have been the ultimate disaster.

Up in the team’s private booth at Winnipeg Arena Sunday, owner Bruce McNall held his breath, while down on the ice, Wayne Gretzky desperately tried to catch his.

Seconds earlier in the second period, the stick of Winnipeg’s Doug Evans smashed into Gretzky’s stomach, leaving McNall’s $30-million superstar on his hands and knees, gasping for air.

Gretzky, it turned out, just had the wind knocked out of him. He returned to play in the third period, but couldn’t prevent his club from falling to the Jets, 5-2.

No matter.

The Kings could at least salvage one bit of good news from this lost weekend in Winnipeg. They have to take their victories where they can these days, and there certainly aren’t many to be found on the scoreboard.

Sunday’s loss, before a sellout crowd of 15,569, was their second of this two-game set, following a 9-3 defeat here Friday night.

The two losses pushed the Kings (28-32-6) 10 points behind the third-place Jets in the Smythe Division with 14 games left.

The Kings, showing their ineptness is not limited to one style, seem to keep finding new ways to lose.

Friday night, they were nowhere to be found mentally at the opening faceoff, surrendering three goals in a little over three minutes.

Sunday, they played tough defensively in the first period, allowing the Jets only six shots on goal.

The Kings had 17, only to be turned away on all of them in the scoreless period by Winnipeg goalie Bob Essensa.

“The Kings are a lot like us in that they try to get a jump on you early,” Essensa said. “If you frustrate them by stifling them like we did, it gives you a chance to get your stuff together.”

Had it not been for a rash of penalties, the Jets might not have gotten it together at all Sunday. Four of their five goals came on power plays. Thomas Steen had two of the goals, giving him three in two games after he missed 21 games with back problems. Dale Hawerchuk had five assists, tying a team record.

When the Jets’ Teppo Numminen took a shot on goal, both King goalie Ron Scott and defenseman Larry Robinson were in the crease.

Either man could have cleared the puck out. Neither did.

Robinson blocked the shot, but it squirted off to the right where Steen was waiting to put the final touch on his triumphant comeback weekend.

Mark Kumpel added his eighth goal a little over a minute later. It was Winnipeg’s only even-handed score of the day.

Two of the goals came in five-on-three situations, one on a four-on-three and another on a five-on-four.

In all, four players received automatic ejections for game misconducts. That’s just three fewer ejections than the number in Wednesday’s record-setting Kings-Edmonton Oilers slugfest. But Sunday’s game in no way resembled that one. Several of these penalties were inadvertent. The Kings’ Dave Taylor was ejected when he checked Randy Carlyle into the boards. Carlyle, who doesn’t wear a helmet, received a cut above one eye.

Tony Granato was ejected for high-sticking after giving Steen a bloody nose. Since that was Granato’s second high-sticking penalty, he could face a one-game suspension. But referee Rob Shick said he will inform the league office that Granato’s blow to Steen was accidental.

Brian Benning and Todd Elik both received game misconducts for being the third man in fights.

When it was over, Gretzky downplayed his injury.

“It was accidental,” he said. “He (Evans) just hit me in the right spot where I had no padding and I panicked.”