Stauber’s Turn to Get Burned : Kings: Goaltending still a big problem in 8-3 loss to Rangers. Team falls to fourth, Gretzky feels a twinge.

King Coach Barry Melrose can talk about his team quitting in the third period of Saturday’s 8-3 loss to the New York Rangers. He can mention its lack of courage and failure to play hard.

This is all fine. And true.

But what Melrose didn’t speak frankly about was obvious to anyone in the sellout crowd of 16,005 at the Forum.

The Kings’ goaltending is getting painful to watch. And it’s important to remember that the fifth-place Edmonton Oilers are 10 points behind the fourth-place Kings (23-20-5) in the Smythe Division. Third place became a memory on Saturday as the Winnipeg Jets passed the Kings with their victory over the Oilers.

Kelly Hrudey has been abysmal since early December. Robb Stauber, who drew Saturday’s starting assignment, is a shell of what he was in October and November. Even their teammates are quietly suggesting that they can’t go anywhere with a goaltending team of Hrudey and Stauber.

On Saturday, Stauber’s play was notable only in that he didn’t get pulled the way he did in his two previous starts. In the third period, he let in goals that probably would not have eluded him in his college days. Instead, he was outperformed by the Rangers’ third-string goaltender, 20-year-old Corey Hirsch, who earned his first NHL victory.

During this slump--which has resulted in the Kings’ eight-game winless streak at home (0-7-1)--Hrudey and Stauber have had the knack of giving up soft goals just when their teammates have gotten back into the game Saturday was no exception.

After falling behind, 3-0, the Kings tied the score with an inspired run of hockey in the second period with a power-play goal by Tony Granato (17th of the season) and two goals by Jari Kurri for his 20th and 21st of the season. Kurri’s second goal came on the power play with 1:59 remaining in the second.

Then came Stauber’s struggles in the third period as he gave up five goals, including three in a stretch of 2:17. That short period of ineptness turned a tie game into a 6-3 lead for the Rangers.

Adam Graves beat Stauber on the short side at 3:56 to make it 4-3. The next goal, by Tony Amonte, was especially shaky. Amonte took the puck off the boards and beat Stauber between the pads from an almost impossible angle.

“All you have to do is shut your pads,” Stauber said. “It should probably never go in. And it did. I just didn’t watch the puck and I thought I had the angle and I didn’t. After that, I started to second-guess myself.”

Even the Rangers were aware that the Kings were anything but solid in the net. “It’s obvious we caught the goalie on an off night,” said Mike Gartner, who scored his 30th of the season, making him the first player in NHL history to score 30 goals in 14 consecutive seasons.

But Melrose refused to second-guess anything Stauber did or didn’t do Saturday. In fact, he said he didn’t think they needed a new No. 1 goaltender.

“I have confidence in Kelly and Robb,” he said. “Kelly and Robb will be fine--they’ll be fine again.”

Melrose’s confidence has eroded in other areas in regard to his team. The Kings’ farm system, which he says is void of any real talent, isn’t the solution.

“I want some different players in here,” he said. “There are only two ways you handle problems. We’ve got to get new players in here. Either that, or a new coach. . . . I’m disgusted in people, I’m disgusted in myself.”

Said defenseman Paul Coffey: “He (Melrose) has been more than fair with us all year. I haven’t seen him this upset in a long time, if ever. We’re all embarrassed as players--it’s horrendous.”

The news got even worse afterward. Wayne Gretzky, who has played in nine games since returning from his career-threatening back injury, said he felt a twinge after getting hit by Kevin Lowe along the boards in the first period. “I felt a little bit of a twinge,” he said. “I kind of wrenched my back. . . . I don’t feel sore (now). I’ll have to see how I am tomorrow. I don’t want to get hit hard like that.”