Even McSorley Isn’t Enough : Hockey: He scores quickly in return as a King, but commits two miscues to aid the Flyers’ 4-3 victory.

It was Marty McSorley’s night at the Forum on Friday.

For 27 seconds.

He got the crowd cheering in the pregame warm-ups before his first appearance as a King since the end of the Stanley Cup finals eight months ago.

He got the adrenaline flowing in his teammates.

He got a huge ovation when he was introduced.

And he got the puck into the net on his first shift, taking a pass from Wayne Gretzky and putting it between the pads of Philadelphia Flyer goalie Dominic Roussel for his fourth goal of the season 27 seconds into the game.

So much for the triumphant return.

The victory went to the other side, two McSorley turnovers leading to Flyer goals that proved crucial as Philadelphia scored a 4-3 victory before a sellout crowd of 16,005.

McSorley was disappointed after failing to get the one thing he most desperately wanted on Day 1 of his second tour as a King--a victory.

“We lost,” he said, “so there is nothing to relish or feel good about.”

Gretzky did his best to temper the great expectations over the return of his long-time teammate in both Edmonton and Los Angeles.

“One guy can’t be a savior,” Gretzky said.

With the Kings, Stanley Cup finalists a year ago, reeling dangerously close to missing the playoffs, the pressure was on to find someone such as McSorley, who had been traded in the off-season--someone big and aggressive, both at the blue line and in the locker room.

Rather than settle for a reasonable facsimile, the Kings went out and got the genuine article, pulling off a trade with Pittsburgh last Tuesday to bring McSorley, one of the team’s most popular players ever, back to the Forum.

“I was pumped,” McSorley said of his mood before the game.

As for the goal, he said, “It was fun. I’ll take a few more of those.”

Coach Barry Melrose made the most of McSorley, using the defenseman for large chunks of time at both even strength and on special teams.

“He’s a great player, a great person and a leader,” Melrose said. “And you can never have enough of those guys.”

McSorley’s troubles began at the start of the second period when he lost the puck, Philadelphia taking advantage to tie the score on Mark Recchi’s 31st goal.

The Flyers took the lead when Gretzky drew a rare trip to the penalty box, called for holding a stick.

With a man advantage, Philadelphia’s Eric Lindros controlled a rebound that King goalie Robb Stauber couldn’t hold and put the puck back between Stauber’s pads for his 31st goal.

Before the period had ended, Robert Lang had again tied the score with his third goal.

But in the third period, McSorley fanned on a shot, Philadelphia taking control and moving quickly into the Kings’ zone, where Mikael Renberg put the puck in the net, smashing it between Stauber and McSorley to give Philadelphia a 3-2 lead.

When Melrose pulled Stauber with 1:40 to play, Lindros got the clincher, putting his team-leading 32nd goal into the empty net.

Warren Rychel’s ninth goal in the final minute was too little too late.

The loss, the Kings’ third in a row, drops them to 21-30-6 and leaves them five points behind the San Jose Sharks, owners of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference and the Kings’ opponents tonight in San Jose.

Philadelphia is 27-29-4 after sweeping their two-game season series with the Kings.

Can McSorley give the Kings the boost they need to make the playoffs?

“You can’t lead without leading on the ice,” McSorley said. “Nobody is going to listen to somebody who doesn’t show it first.”

* A REAL STRUGGLE: The Mighty Ducks prove to be only slightly more inept on offense than Quebec in a 1-0 loss to the Nordiques. C6