NHL PLAYOFFS : Maple Leafs Take the Fifth, 3-2 : Game 5: Anderson’s goal at 19:20 of overtime wins for Toronto, putting Kings in a must-win situation.

In every series, the Kings have had their playoff destiny determined by their performance in Game 5.

For now, the lasting image in the Campbell Conference final is of Toronto right wing Glenn Anderson batting a shot out of the air through King goaltender Kelly Hrudey’s legs at 19:20 of the first overtime.

The sudden ending gave Toronto a 3-2 victory Tuesday night in Game 5 at Maple Leaf Gardens before a sellout crowd of 15,720, as well as a 3-2 edge in the best-of-seven series.

After holding a 2-1 lead in the series, the Kings are faced with the possibility of playoff elimination Thursday in Game 6 at the Forum. They didn’t face this kind of situation in their previous two series, having entered the sixth game with a 3-2 edge both times.

And the Maple Leafs return to Los Angeles, knowing they did not play that well on Tuesday. Then again, the Kings were sloppy at times, too, blowing a 2-0 lead after second-period goals by Gary Shuchuk and Jari Kurri. Toronto wedged the door open and got back into it with Mike Krushelnyski’s power-play goal at 16:11 of the second period, to cut the Kings’ lead to 2-1 heading into the third period. Defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre tied it, 2-2, with sort of a fluke goal at 8:43 of the third.

“We weren’t very good tonight,” Toronto Coach Pat Burns said. “We definitely pulled the rabbit out of the hat tonight. For 40-45 minutes they totally played better than we did.

“Felix (Potvin) stole that one for us.”

And Anderson’s stick turned into a magic wand for the Maple Leafs near the end of the first overtime. Just before his goal, the Kings were mired in their zone and unable to make the simplest of passes to get the puck out.

Finally, there was a short delay when the Kings’ net came off its magnets when Toronto center Doug Gilmour and King defenseman Tim Watters crashed into it. The fans littered the ice with paper cups, beer and soda, appearing to give the weary Kings a needed delay.

It merely staved off the inevitable.

Toronto continued to mount the pressure. Wayne Gretzky could not get the puck out, nor could any other King. Finally, Anderson launched a shot from the left circle and wisely followed it to the net.

The puck deflected off King forward Pat Conacher’s stick and lofted high in the air and began its descent. Anderson moved to the front of the net and ended up following the path of the puck. Conacher, perhaps distracted by the deflection, didn’t stick with Anderson, who batted it out of the air for the game-winner.

“I got a piece of it, but it really doesn’t matter,” Hrudey said. “It was a great play by him. He went to the net hard.”

Said Anderson: “It came off the boards and I took a shot and it got deflected. It hit the shaft of his (Conacher’s) stick. I didn’t know whether I should take the puck and control it or shoot it.”

Anderson chose wisely.

This is only the second time the Kings have played an overtime game in three playoff series. The other was in Game 5 against Vancouver in the second round, when forward Gary Shuchuk won it in double overtime. Tuesday, the Kings were at the opposite end of the emotional spectrum.

Gretzky, held pointless for the first time in the series, looked glassy eyed and all he could do was shrug his shoulders when he answered questions.

King Coach Barry Melrose, relentlessly positive in the worst situation, could only shake his head and look at the score sheet while sitting in a cranny in the basement of Maple Leaf Gardens after his short news conference.

“That was an overtime goal and Potvin was phenomenal,” Melrose said. “But again--could have, would have . . . and didn’t.”

The Kings will have to banish those thoughts and attempt to forget how close they were to pulling within one game of the Stanley Cup final. In Vancouver, the double-overtime victory essentially decided the series as the Canucks had little left for Game 6. And in Calgary, the Flames were unable to rebound for Game 6 after the Kings defeated them, 9-4, in Game 5.

“We’ll respond,” Melrose said. “Our heads are down a little bit now, but that’s because we’re competitive people.”

Toronto, on the other hand, was forced to recover from 2-1 deficits in its two previous series against Detroit and St. Louis. For the Maple Leafs, the message was deceptively simple heading into overtime.

“I didn’t have to say nothing--you’re almost playing your entire season in one overtime season,” Burns said.

Melrose had attempted to shake things up by making another dramatic move when he scratched center Jimmy Carson. Carson, who had one assist in the first four games of the series, has been struggling. Tuesday, he was replace by right wing Jim Thomson, who made only a brief appearance.

“I was going to shorten the bench to probably nine to 11 forwards,” Melrose said. “I was going to play Gretzky, Conacher and Jari a ton. Jimmy is not a kid who can play only once every eight or nine shifts. It’s just not fair to him.”

The move was designed to send a message and it nearly worked. But for the Kings, the impact wasn’t quite enough to get them through this Game 5.

* QUICK THINKING: Glenn Anderson didn’t have much time to decide what to do. So he put the puck in the net. C5

* TOUGH ONE: Kings’ locker room is deflated after they get 43 shots and blow a two-goal advantage. C5