Kings End Regular Season on Doubly Sour Note : Hockey: They lose to playoff foe Calgary, 8-4, and learn that Gretzky still is having problems with his back.

If this was a playoff preview, look for a short series between the Kings and the Calgary Flames.

On the ice, the Kings were thoroughly dominated by Calgary Sunday night, losing, 8-4, to the team they will face in the first round of the playoffs beginning Wednesday.

Off the ice, the news was just as bad for the Kings.

Asked if Wayne Gretzky would be able to play in Game 1, coach Tom Webster replied, “At this point, I’d have to say no.”

That’s the most negative diagnosis yet by Webster on the condition of his center, who has been out since March 22 because of a hyperextended back.

Saturday, Webster had said that Gretzky, still in Los Angeles receiving treatment, felt a lot better because the spasms in his back were going away.

“They are,” Webster said, “but now the back is very sore. That’s the way it goes with a back. It’s day to day.”

But the Kings are running out of days.

With Sunday’s loss in the regular-season finale, the Kings, considered Stanley Cup contenders before the start of the year, finished 34-39-7, fourth in the Smythe Division.

They stumble into the playoffs with a four-game winless streak and a three-game losing streak.

Merely putting a team on the ice has been difficult for Webster. Trainer Pete Demers has been more popular than TV doctor Doogie Howser.

Tom Laidlaw is doubtful for the playoffs because of a lower back injury. John Tonelli has a sinus infection. Both Dave Taylor and Larry Robinson have pulled groin muscles. Steve Kasper has a sore neck.

Ron Scott was supposed to start in goal Sunday night. But by the time he went out to warm up, his face looked as white as the ice he was standing on. Scott was diagnosed as having flu and Mario Gosselin took his place.

Kelly Hrudey will start the playoffs in goal, but he still tires easily from a long bout with mononucleosis.

The Kings’ recent play has been poor in all areas.

They have been outscored 15-7 in the last three games. Their power play has been nearly non-existent. They were zero for six Sunday, leaving them one for 19 in three games, a 5% success rate.

Add to all this the fact they will be giving up home-ice advantage to the defending Stanley Cup champions in the best-of-seven series, and the possible absence of Gretzky appears devastating.

Gretzky was due to undergo further examination today, and a final decision is then expected on his availability.

“We’re not just looking at the playoffs,” Demers said. “We’re looking at the rest of his life.”

The Flames aren’t necessarily buying all this gloomy news.

“We have to prepare,” said Calgary coach Terry Crisp, “as if Gretzky is going to be here.”

Not the Kings.

“We are going to play whether Wayne is here or not,” said teammate Luc Robitaille. “We’ve all got to do a little more. No one guy can replace a Wayne Gretzky. It’s got to be 20 guys. It’s got to be every one doing a little more to make a difference.”

Robitaille has been doing his part. He scored twice Sunday, giving him three goals in the final two games and a club-leading total of 52, one short of his career high.

But Robitaille couldn’t do enough to make up for the defensive lapses and Gosselin’s inability in goal to hold back the Flames’ onslaught.

Calgary, with 29 shots on goal, scored three times in the first period, once in the second and the final four goals in the last period.

The Flames were successful on three of five power-play opportunities.

Sergei Makarov closed out his first season in North America with four points, including his 23rd and 24th goals, further boosting his chances of being voted rookie of the year.

Makarov wound up with 86 points, fourth best on his club.

Teammate Gary Roberts scored his 39th goal, tying the team record for goals by a left wing.

Also scoring for Calgary before a sellout Olympic Saddledome crowd of 20,107 were Al MacInnis (28th goal), Jamie Macoun (eighth), Theoren Fleury (31st), Doug Gilmour (24th) and Jonas Bergqvist (second).

The Kings had a big offensive game from Jay Miller, who scored twice to give him a career-high 10 goals.

He even had a shot at a hat trick.

“I was too nervous,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do. I got the puck on my stick, but I didn’t do the right thing. But 10 goals is pretty good for me.”

In winning their third consecutive Smythe Division title, the Flames finish 42-23-15.

The club is hot, with a 13-3-2 record during its last 18 games. The Kings are anything but hot, heading into the playoffs.

But ready or not, here they come.