Kings Caught Short on Defense : Hockey: Rob Blake joins long list of injured defensemen in 5-3 loss to the Flames.

The Kings hoped that rookie defensemen Rene Chapdelaine, Peter Ahola and Darryl Sydor would take their place on the blue line.

But not this soon.

Or this much.

When Rob Blake became the latest King defenseman to go down, spraining a knee ligament in his first shift Thursday night, he joined a long list of injured defensemen, a situation that has suddenly left the rookie trio on the last line of defense.

That line was unable to hold back the onrushing Flames Thursday night as the Kings lost to Calgary, 5-3, before a sellout crowd of 20,133 at Olympic Saddledome, dropping the Kings to 11-8-6.

This wasn’t exactly the way the Kings envisioned things going last spring when they made their monumental trade for Jari Kurri.

They didn’t figure that Kurri, hurting both physically and offensively, would be trying to play himself back into shape on the third line as he is now.

They couldn’t imagine that defenseman Jeff Chychrun, making an agonizing comeback from wrist surgery, would have yet to make an appearance.

And they couldn’t possibly foresee that the Kings would be hit with losses ranging from Marty McSorley (an infection in his throat) to Larry Robinson (damaged eye) to Tim Watters (sprained ankle).

“It was not surprising,” goalie Kelly Hrudey said of Blake’s injury. “The way things are going, you almost expect someone to be injured. That’s how crazy things are.”

Blake collided with Flame winger Ronnie Stern on Blake’s first shift on the ice. He will be examined today but is expected to miss some action.

Blake’s loss left the Kings with only five defenders.

Calgary took advantage, scoring first-period goals by Paul Ranheim (seventh), Gary Roberts (15th) and Marc Habscheid (sixth) and never looked back.

The Kings, able to convert on one of six power plays, were never in it after getting outshot, 12-5, in that first period.

Tony Granato scored his 10th in that first 20 minutes and later added his 11th. Kurri got his seventh on a power play.

The other Flame goals were scored by Theoren Fleury (team-leading 16th) and Robert Reichel (11th).

The Flames also have struggled of late, but the victory improves them to 11-9-4 and puts them two points back of the third-place Kings in the Smythe Division.

This was the first game of King Coach Tom Webster’s 12-game suspension. But when it comes to missing bodies, that was the least of their worries.

King Notes

Wayne Gretzky says the Kings will keep the disruptive effect of Coach Tom Webster’s suspension to a minimum. “I think we’ll get through it pretty good,” Gretzky said. “It’s a question of keeping the flow. We’ll be fine. If anything, this will pull us closer together” . . . As to the length of the suspension, longest in league history for a coach, Gretzky said: “From the league’s point of view, they have to protect the officials. We all get mad at the officials, but they try to do the best they can. Nobody’s questioning the suspension, saying it’s unfair. We just wish it wasn’t 12 games, although we understand the reasons why.” . . . The Kings completed a minor league deal Thursday, sending center Jeff Rohlicek, a 25-year-old center, from their Phoenix Roadrunner farm team to the Chicago Blackhawks’ organization for veteran defenseman Rick Lanz. The 6-2, 203-pound Lanz, a Czechoslovak, spent nine years in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was playing for the Canadian national team and will report to Phoenix. . . . Calgary wing Gary Roberts renegotiated a new contract Wednesday that will pay him $2.3 million over four years beginning with $500,000 this season. He would have received $270,000 this season.