King Unbeaten Streak Takes a Beating, 3-2

The Kings were flying high after after Sunday’s 5-4 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers at the Forum.

But the New York Islanders brought them back to earth, ending the Kings’ four-game unbeaten streak, 3-2, Tuesday night in front of 15,727 fans at the Nassau Coliseum.

Right wing Duane Sutter of the Islanders broke a 2-2 tie with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third period when he deflected a shot by rookie center Roger Kortko into the net.

Kortko almost had gotten the game-winner seconds earlier on a rebound of his own shot. But King defenseman Mark Hardy slid in front of the net to block Kortko’s wrist shot. There was a big pileup in front of the net, and King goalie Bob Janecyk got blocked out of the play.

Sutter said: “Roger got a real hard whack at it, but a defenseman (Hardy) slid in and stopped it. I saw the puck go into the corner, and Roger went to get it. I went to the net when I saw him go into the corner to get it. He came in from behind and shot it. The puck hit my skate and went in off it.”

Janecyk said that Sutter should have been penalized for interference.

“He (Sutter) jammed the net, and I got knocked down,” Janecyk said. “I thought there should have been a penalty called on it, but the ref said that one of our guys pushed him into me.”

The Kings played well enough to win their first game here since 1981, outshooting the Islanders, 41-30, including a 15-5 margin in the second period.

But Islander goalie Kelly Hrudey made 39 saves to beat the Kings. Hrudy made three big saves just before Sutter’s game-winning goal.

“When you’re not playing well, a couple of big saves can turn a game around,” Hrudey said.

“Kelly has been playing well for us all season,” Islander Coach Al Arbour said.

The Kings had a chance at tying the game in the closing seconds when Islander defenseman Dave Langevin was penalized for elbowing, giving the Kings a power play. But time ran out before they could get a shot off.

“A few extra seconds ticked off the clock before they stopped it,” King Coach Pat Quinn said. “I thought there should have been six seconds left instead of three. But that didn’t cost us the game. We had a couple of mix-ups right on our doorstep which cost us the game.

“It was a tight game all the way, but we haven’t learned how to win those types of games yet. It’s part of the learning process.”

The Islanders took a 1-0 lead 4:34 into the second period when Pat Flatley scored his 18th goal of the season. Teammate John Tonelli gave Flatley a nice pass along the boards, and Flatley put a 20-foot wrist shot off the post and into the net.

But the Kings tied it at 1-1 on a controversial goal by left wing Dave (Tiger) Williams at 10:25 of the second period.

Hrudey deflected a slap shot from the left point by King defenseman Craig Redmond high into the air and back over his own head. Williams bumped into Hrudey as the puck was coming down, over the goal line, and the net was knocked loose by Islander defenseman Stefan Persson and right wing Bob Nystrom.

Referee Bob Hall, who was right on top of the play, called it a goal immediately, saying the puck was on its downward arc and was already over the line when the goal came loose.

“I don’t know if I touched it or not,” Williams said. “Nystrom saw that the puck was going into the net, and he made a smart play to knock the net loose.”

It appeared from the TV replay that Williams cross-checked Hrudey to keep him out of the play.

Said Williams: “I was just doing my job in front of the net. I didn’t cross-check him. I gave him an outward shove toward the ocean.”

The Islanders took a 2-1 lead with 11:01 left in the third period when Tonelli got his 39th goal of the season.

But the Kings tied it at 2-2 when center Bernie Nicholls scored his 45th goal of the season on a power play. Nicholls took a pass from Marcel Dionne and fired a shot from point-blank range.

King Notes

The Islanders announced before the game that left wing Greg Gilbert will miss the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs after undergoing knee surgery. Brent Sutter, the team’s second-leading scorer, will also be out three to four weeks with a separated shoulder. The Kings close out their trip tonight with a game against the Detroit Red Wings at the Joe Louis Arena. The Kings are 2-0 against the Red Wings, including an 8-3 win last Saturday night at the Forum. . . . The Kings were not allowed to practice at the Nassau Coliseum Tuesday morning because the ice was not available. The arena was still being changed over from a concert Monday night. . . . The Kings (32-27-13) remained four points behind the idle third-place Calgary Flames in the Smythe Division. The Islanders (38-29-5) are 10 points behind the second-place Washington Capitals in the Patrick Division.