A Glimmer of Light for Kings’ Granato : Hockey: After team falls behind, 3-0, he scores two goals to help Kings get a 4-4 tie.

There have been ongoing trade rumors sending him to Chicago, severe back problems keeping him out of the lineup . . . and very few goals.

Welcome to King forward Tony Granato’s unpleasant season.

Still, Granato kept working and instigating. If he wasn’t scoring, well, he might as well try and shut out the opposition.

Granato finally ended his offensive drought with two goals in the Kings’ 4-4 tie against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night before 15,006 at the Forum.

“It’s been frustrating,” said Granato, who scored his first goal in 13 games. “I’ve just got to stick with it. Obviously, it’s been a low point for my production. But I feel like I’ve been skating well and making good things happen.”

Said King Coach Barry Melrose: “I’m happy for Tony. The second half (of the season) is going to be his. He’s going to own the second half.”

Tuesday was almost like two games in one. The Kings, tired from Monday night’s game against Calgary at Phoenix, were sluggish early. But the second half featured a wide-open, entertaining game and they outshot Winnipeg, 49-31.

Granato awakened his teammates. He had not scored since Nov. 30 against the Jets, but he ended his scoring drought at 14:08 of the second period with his second goal in 31 games.

Jari Kurri, who had two assists, set it up from the left corner. Granato took the pass and fired a wrist shot off the goal post, past Winnipeg goaltender Bob Essensa, to cut the Jets’ lead to 3-1.

It had taken the Kings until the midpoint of the game to get warmed up. By then, the Jets had a 3-0 lead on first-period goals by Tie Domi at 1:39 and Thomas Steen on a power play at 11:57 and a second-period goal by Darrin Shannon, at 10:23.

A power play paid off for the Kings, with Luc Robitaille scoring on his own rebound at 17:41 of the second period. With the goal, his 27th of the season, Robitaille moved past Toronto’s Dave Andreychuk to top the league’s power-play goal list with 18. Granato tied it, 3-3, in the third period, at 2:03, deflecting Charlie Huddy’s slap shot from the right point.

In the third, the Jets went ahead again on Teemu Selanne’s 25th goal of the season, at 7:21. But the Kings quickly came back with Tomas Sandstrom’s 16th of the season at 9:34.

Said Wayne Gretzky, who had two assists: “Tony is such a big part of the team. He played hurt with his back when he probably should not have been playing. He’s the heart and soul of this team. He’s feeling good and we feel good for him.”

King Notes

The purchase of a large chunk of the Kings by IDB Communications chief executive officer Jeffrey Sudikoff and Joe Cohen probably will not close for another two to three weeks, according to an IDB spokesperson. Sudikoff confirmed that the investment is $60 million but said, “the amount could change.” IDB officials have emphasized that this is a private investment by Sudikoff, not by the company. . . . Goaltender Rick Knickle, who has spent most of the season with the team’s minor-league affiliate in Phoenix, was suspended indefinitely by King General Manager Nick Beverley when he refused a temporary assignment to Ft. Wayne (Ind.) of the International Hockey League. Knickle has struggled with the Roadrunners, going 1-6-2 with a goals against average of 5.36 and an .847 save percentage. “Obviously, he’s got a short memory because he’s forgotten where he came from,” said Beverley, looking irritated. “. . . He’s not stopping the puck--that’s the bottom line. He’s totally out to lunch.” Knickle, 33 and a career minor-leaguer, was given his first NHL chance when Beverley signed him last season. Knickle appeared in 10 games with the Kings and had a 6-4 record.

Jari Kurri, with 544 goals, is tied with Maurice Richard for 10th place on the NHL all-time scoring list. Kurri has 20 goals this season and is on track for his highest goal output since the 1988-89 season, when he had 44 goals for Edmonton. . . . The scratches Tuesday were defenseman Brent Thompson and forwards John Druce, Dave Taylor and Shawn McEachern. McEachern seems to be the latest occupant of what the players call “Chateau Bow-Wow.” He has been scratched for three consecutive games and a total of five this season.