Kings Can’t Hold Lead, Settle for a 4-4 Tie in Calgary

The sellout crowd of 16,683 at the Olympic Saddledome Wednesday night had at least one reason to be pleased. For once, the hometown Flames did not lose to the Kings.

They didn’t win, either, but at least the 4-4 tie in overtime was better than the Flames have managed in three previous meetings between the teams this season.

“I thought we had lost it in the second period,” Flame Coach Bob Johnson said.

Flame left wing Rich Kromm added: “We were lucky to get a tie.”

The Kings are 3-0-1 against Calgary, and Coach Pat Quinn was asked the reason for his team’s success against the Flames.

“I think they underestimated us in the first couple of games,” he said, “and maybe they were looking ahead to Christmas when we beat them the last time (a 6-3 win Dec. 18).”

The Kings probably should have won this one, too, but they failed to hold a one-goal lead for the second consecutive game.

Trailing, 4-3, after the Kings scored three straight goals in the second period, the Flames tied it with 9:06 left in the third period when center Jim Peplinski tipped in a shot by right wing Hakan Loob.

Goalie Darren Eliot blocked Loob’s shot, but the puck rolled loose to Peplinski in the crease, and he fired it home for his 10th goal of the season.

“He (Eliot) made the stop, and the puck was just sitting there,” Peplinski said. “I picked it up and jammed it into the net.”

The Flames had a chance to win the game when they had a chance for a power play with 3:08 left in regulation after King left wing Phil Sykes got a two-minute penalty for hooking Calgary defenseman Paul Reinhart.

“I don’t think it was a good call,” Sykes said. “On the same shift just 15 seconds before, I was tripped in front of the net, and they didn’t call it. The officials should be more consistent.”

Reinhart had the Flames’ best chance on the power play when he hit the right post with 1:41 left, and Eliot later made a save on a shot by left wing Kent Nilsson.

The Kings killed the penalty, however, to force a five-minute overtime period, during which the Flames outshot them, 3-2.

The tie left the Kings with a 1-5-4 record in their last 10 games. Asked if that concerns him, Quinn replied: “I don’t like our record, but if you’d told me that we’d be .500 at this point, I wouldn’t have believed you.

“We have been cheating on defense during this 10-game stretch. You just don’t win many games if you cheat on defense.”

The Kings trailed, 3-1, at the end of the first period after the Flames scored three straight goals.

“We weren’t much in it in the first period,” Quinn admitted. “We were lucky that it didn’t get out of hand.”

The Kings scored on their first shot of the game when center Bernie Nicholls got his 27th goal of the season. Nicholls tipped in a shot by rookie defenseman Craig Redmond at 3:39 of the first period.

However, the Flames tied it at 1-1 just 32 seconds later when center Carey Wilson scored after a scramble in front of the net.

A shot by Dave Taylor hit the crossbar, preventing the Kings from taking the lead, and the Flames then went ahead with 4:35 left in the period when defenseman Jamie Macoun scored his third goal of the season on a slapshot.

With just six seconds left in the period, the Flames got a cheap goal when Kromm beat Eliot for his 15th goal of the season. Eliot kicked the puck out of the net in disgust.

The Kings, who were outshot, 14-10, in the first period, scored three straight goals in the second period to take a 4-3 lead going into the final period.

Just 1:38 into the second period, King center Doug Smith got his 15th goal of the season when he rebounded a shot by Redmond. Sykes tied it at 3-3 with 13:25 left in the second period when he tipped in a shot by Steve Shutt.

The Kings took the lead on a goal by Jim Fox with 6:55 left in the second period. Terry Ruskowski set up the goal when he took the puck away from Macoun and passed it to Fox in the slot. Fox beat Flame goalie Reggie Lemelin for his 20th goal of the season.

Eliot kept the Kings in it in the second period by making several spectacular saves. With 8:02 left, he stopped a breakaway by Flame left wing Steve Tambellini, and with 5:50 remaining, he made a good skate save on a shot by right wing Colin Patterson. King Notes Calgary defenseman Jamie Macoun, who broke his right cheekbone when he was hit by Edmonton’s Mark Messier Dec. 26., is wearing a facemask to protect the injury. The NHL will hold a hearing on the incident Friday in Toronto. Calgary Coach Bob Johnson said that Messier should be suspended for 20 games. . . . The Flames were unable to get John Denver to perform at the NHL all-star banquet Feb. 11. However, Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers Band will be there. . . . The Kings return home to open a four-game stand Saturday night against the Winnipeg Jets. They’ll play the Jets again Sunday night at he Forum. The Kings play Toronto next Wednesday and the New York Islanders Jan. 19.