Struggling Potvin Given Seat on the Bench

If Felix Potvin had shielded the Kings’ net as doggedly as Coach Andy Murray has protected his No. 1 goaltender, the Kings wouldn’t be struggling to keep themselves out of the Pacific Division cellar.

Murray has been careful not to criticize Potvin, pointing out repeatedly that the Kings’ problems can’t be laid at the feet of any one player.

The numbers, though, say that Potvin hasn’t held up his end. His goals-against average of 2.91 ranks 36th in a league with 30 teams and his save percentage of .884 is the NHL’s worst among goaltenders with at least 10 appearances.

This for a team that has given up fewer shots than all but three teams.

And so, after pulling him twice in his last three starts, Murray benched Potvin for Thursday night’s game against the Edmonton Oilers.

Backup Jamie Storr, Murray said, had played well in his last few games and “always plays well against the Oilers.” But clearly Potvin has not approached the level he reached last spring, when he helped lead the Kings’ late-season surge into the playoffs after being traded from the Vancouver Canucks in February.

“We would have liked him to stop more pucks,” Murray acknowledged.

Still, the coach said, Potvin remains the Kings’ No. 1 goaltender and could return to the lineup as early as Saturday against the San Jose Sharks.

Potvin said he was a little surprised not to be starting against the Oilers, especially since he wasn’t told about the change until Thursday morning.

“Any time you only get five wins [in 17 decisions], you’re not satisfied,” he said, assessing his struggles. “Some nights, I feel pretty good. Some other nights, I don’t feel so good. But you’ve got to stay positive, keep working hard. You can’t get down on yourself. You’ve got to keep playing....

“Certainly, goaltending is a big part of the team. If you don’t come up with the big save at the right time, the team is going to get hurt.”

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An NHL source said that Murray will not be fined for his outspoken criticism Tuesday night of supervisor of officials Bob Hall, who overruled a call by the on-ice referees and disallowed a goal by Mikko Eloranta in the second period of a 5-5 tie with the Calgary Flames.

Hall, after reviewing video of the play, ruled that Eloranta had struck the puck above the height of the crossbar.

Murray described it as a “terrible call,” adding that “the guy upstairs didn’t do his job tonight” because no replay showed conclusively that Eloranta violated the rule. He then asked reporters if they thought he’d be fined for his remarks.

“I didn’t say it in an inflammatory way,” Murray said later. “I just felt it was a mistake, but I didn’t say, like [Detroit Red Wing Coach] Scotty Bowman does, or some other guys, ‘The referees are idiots; they cost us the game.’

“I just said in my opinion he made a mistake.”