Gretzky Returns; Kings Edge Flames in Overtime : Hockey: Granato scores short-handed goal at 8:37 to give L.A. a two-games-to-one playoff lead over Calgary.

Wayne Gretzky’s back is back.

And so are the Kings.

Emotionally buoyed by Wayne Gretzky’s return to the lineup, the Kings edged the Calgary Flames at the Forum, 2-1, on Tony Granato’s short-handed overtime goal Sunday night.

The Kings lead the best-of-seven series, two games to one.

Granato’s goal came 8:37 into the extra period after he intercepted a pass from Gary Suter at mid-ice.

“The puck was bouncing in the neutral zone,” Granato said. “I knew it was going to be a tough angle.”

Granato cut the angle down, skating to within a few feet of goalie Mike Vernon.

Then he fired a rising shot, the puck sailing over Vernon’s glove into the net.

“I was trying to shoot it between his legs,” Granato said, “but it just wasn’t there. Fortunately, I found room on the short side.”

Granato’s heroics shifted the spotlight from Gretzky’s return before a sellout crowd of 16,005.

Seventeen days after leaving the ice because of a hyper-extended back, and only two days after resuming practice, Gretzky skated back into the Forum to a reception fit for a king.

There had been erroneous reports of Gretzky sightings for a week in Canada, but the Flames finally spotted him in the last place they wanted to see him, on the ice.

“I knew I was going to play this morning,” Gretzky said. “There had been so much talk about my playing. I told the team I was going to play yesterday (Saturday) and today. So I felt if I didn’t play, it was going to be a little bit of a downer. I was determined to play a little.”

Gretzky quickly made it clear that that he was out there to be more than a cheerleader on skates.

Barely into his first shift, Gretzky stole the puck from Brian MacLellan in the Calgary zone and passed to Tomas Sandstrom coming in from the left side. Sandstrom was unable to convert, but the message was delivered: The greatest point-producer in NHL history was back in business.

He still looked tentative at times in the first period, his full range of motion appearing limited.

But not for long.

By the second period, he looked like, well, Wayne Gretzky.

He set up his team’s goal after coming down the right side and faking a shot. Instead, Gretzky slipped the puck to Rob Blake, whose shot was blocked by Vernon.

The puck came back to Gretzky in the right corner. He centered it for Sandstrom, who directed it past Vernon’s stick into the left corner of the net 23 seconds into the second period.

It was Sandstrom’s first goal of the playoffs.

In the days before Gretzky was injured, Coach Tom Webster was finally able to put together the line he had envisioned when Bernie Nicholls was traded to the New York Rangers for Granato and Sandstrom.

But immediately after the trade, first Granato, then Sandstrom were injured.

But for three games in March, Granato and Sandstrom played on either side of Gretzky. The result: eight goals, 14 assists and three victories, all on the road, against the New York Rangers, Buffalo and Boston.

Then it was Gretzky’s turn to disappear, first because of a strained groin muscle, then the back problem.

In the playoffs, the line, with Chris Kontos subbing for Gretzky, had produced only one point before Sunday, on a power-play goal by Granato.

The Flames tied the score with 5:55 remaining in regulation. Theoren Fleury’s shot from the slot was blocked by goalie Kelly Hrudey.

The puck bounced back to MacLellan, who spun around and passed it to Joe Mullen behind him, coming down the slot.

This time, the puck sailed past Hrudey to set up the overtime.

Both teams squandered numerous opportunities, the Flames failing on all nine of their power plays, the Kings on all seven.

When it was over, Gretzky was asked how the back felt.

“I’m a little sore,” he said.

But not as sore as the Flames.

King Notes

Calgary’s Al MacInnis left after the second period because of a sore knee and didn’t return. His NHL playoff scoring streak ended at 19 games, tying him with Wayne Gretzky for the second longest such streak.

The Kings escaped Calgary with a split, but they didn’t escape the wrath of the Calgary Sun. The paper had some fun with the team with several biting cartoons. One showed a glacier behind the net moving faster than the Kings’ defensemen. Another depicted Marty McSorley filling his head with cement in preparation for the playoffs. A third had a figure holding up a Bernie Nicholls’ jersey, suggesting him to General Manager Rogie Vachon as a possible replacement for the injured Wayne Gretzky.