Kings for Another Day

As I was saying. . . .

The Kings are alive and well today, making life miserable for the Colorado Avalanche, thanks to goaltender Felix Potvin’s shutout Friday in Game 5.

A lot of people had it all wrong after the Kings’ loss Wednesday in Game 4 at Staples Center.

Never underestimate the resiliency of a Cat, particularly one as battle-tested as Potvin.

Now get those “Felix the Cat” stuffed toys ready for Game 6 on Sunday at Staples.

“It’s going to be awesome,” Potvin predicted.

At this point, there’s no sense doubting him. The Vancouver Canucks did and look where they are today, on the golf course after getting swept from the opening round of the playoffs by the Avalanche.

And look at the Kings now, trailing Colorado by only three games to two in this best-of-seven second-round series. Thanks to Potvin, who reached into his bag of tricks and pulled out 20 saves during a 1-0 victory, the Kings have a healthy pulse again.

What happens next is anyone’s guess.

“We showed how much we care,” Potvin said. “It’s going to be awesome in L.A. [on Sunday]. It’s going to be a fun game to play. I’m sure the building is going to be loud.”

Crowds don’t win games, but the emotion of the hometown fans often inspires hometown teams to greatness. More often, hot goaltenders inspire their teammates to greatness.

That certainly has been the case since the Kings nabbed Potvin off the slag heap Feb. 15. Actually, the Kings agreed to take Potvin off the Canucks’ hands for future considerations. Vancouver had no use for him, unable to stomach his inconsistent play. The Kings were desperate for a goaltender and took a chance on Potvin, who was 14-17-3 in 35 games for the Canucks.

Potvin delivered the goods, igniting the Kings’ late charge into the playoffs. He was 13-5-5 after the trade, helping them vault from ninth place to seventh in the Western Conference standings.

Potvin then backstopped the Kings’ first-round victory against the Detroit Red Wings. And he has them back home for Game 6.

“Felix, obviously, has played great,” defenseman Aaron Miller said. “The goalie is the most important player in the playoffs. You’ll only go as far as he’ll take you. He’s a big reason we’ve gotten as far as we have.”

For the second time in this series, Potvin was not the second-best French-Canadian goalie on the ice, outdueling Patrick Roy and earning his first playoff shutout since 1994-95 while with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Potvin made two huge saves midway through the second period of a scoreless game Friday, taking a wraparound try from Peter Forsberg off the arm and chest and kicking away Chris Drury’s rebound from point-blank range.

A few minutes later, Potvin survived a harrowing moment when Colorado’s Milan Hejduk scored an apparent go-ahead goal by batting a puck out of midair.

Potvin charged out of his net immediately to contest the play. And after a brief delay, a review by the video goal judges determined that Hejduk had knocked the puck into the net with a high stick and the goal was disallowed.

“I believe in the American judicial system,” King Coach Andy Murray later joked.

The next scary moments for Potvin happened early in the third, when Chris Dingman charged down left wing, sending a low shot on net. Potvin made the save, but suddenly had the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Dingman in his lap. Referees Terry Gregson and Stephen Walkom alertly whistled Dingman for interfering with Potvin.

Only a brief Avalanche flurry followed in the final moments, after Luc Robitaille scored the only goal at 10:05 of the third period. Colorado pulled Roy in favor of a sixth skater, but never got the puck in the King end and Potvin didn’t have to make a save in the final minute.

“He didn’t have to be spectacular--just solid,” Murray said of Potvin. “He didn’t have to stand on his head.”

Murray shuffled his defense pairs, matching Mattias Norstrom with Aaron Miller for the first time in the postseason. Their task was to slow Forsberg, the league’s leading scorer in the playoffs with 13 points.

Norstrom and Miller bent but didn’t break. Forsberg did have three shots on Potvin, but the most dangerous was the second-period wraparound try. Potvin gave Forsberg no opening, however.

“It was a great defensive effort,” winger Adam Deadmarsh said. “We got a big goaltending effort from Potvin. We have a lot of confidence in him, but at the same time, we don’t want to hang him out to dry.”

Unlike Games 2, 3 and 4, the Kings did not surrender odd-man rushes to the Avalanche in Game 5. With no margin for error, the Kings responded, making for a relatively easy game for Potvin.

“Hopefully, we’ve learned our lesson,” Deadmarsh said. “We were giving them two-on-ones and breakaways in the last few games. The key to winning these games is not giving up odd-man rushes, especially against this team.”