Wilson’s Third Goal Is Unlucky for Kings : Flame Center Scores on a Fluke, but It’s Decisive in 6-5 Calgary Win

Center Carey Wilson of the Calgary Flames is so lucky right now that he should probably enter the Alberta Provincial Lottery.

Wilson scored three goals to rally the Flames to a 6-5 win over the Kings Tuesday night before 16,762 fans at the Olympic Saddledome.

Wilson’s third goal was a fluke, but it turned out to be the difference in the game as the Flames broke the Kings’ three-game unbeaten streak. The Kings are 7-17-4.

With the score tied at 4-4 in the third period, Wilson gave the Flames a 5-4 lead with 4:29 left in the game on the fluke goal.

Wilson was a foot behind the red line in back of the King net when he passed the puck into the crease in front of King goalie Darren Eliot. But the puck was deflected into the net off the glove of King defenseman Mark Hardy. Hardy banged his helmet against the crossbar in frustration.

“It was going to hit me in the face,” Hardy said. “And I put my hand to my face to block it and it went into the stupid net off my glove. Next time, I’ll put my head down and let it hit me.

“I guess I should have let it go. I was trying to knock it down to Eliot.”

Wilson said: “From the corner of my eye I saw that Darren Eliot had left the net. All I was trying to do was get it into the slot so we could score. I had a terrible angle. I was just trying to throw it to the net and I lucked out to have it bounce off Mark Hardy.”

Said Eliot: “It was just an unlucky goal.”

Calgary Coach Bob Johnson said: “It wasn’t a strange goal. He (Wilson) did the one thing you’ve got to do to score, which is shoot the puck at the net. Those are the ones that go in.”

It was Wilson’s second hat trick of the season. He scored the first goal of the game at 8:46 of the first period, and he scored his second at 5:49 of the third period to tie it at 3-3 after the Kings, down, 2-0, had scored three straight second-period goals to take a 3-2 lead into the third period.

The line of Wilson, right wing Hakan Loob and left wing Rich Kromm accounted for four of Calgary’s goals. Loob had one goal and two assists, and Kromm had two assists.

Wilson has six goals and three assists in his last three games, and Loob has one goal in his last four games since the line was put together against Edmonton four games ago.

“All three of us are playing with a lot of confidence,” Wilson said. “Plus, I think we have a little luck on our side. When you get going like this, it’s amazing what will go in the net for you.”

Said Loob: “It seems that everything is going our way now.”

Perry Berezan added an empty-net goal with 56 seconds left, after the Kings pulled Eliot for an extra skater, to give Calgary a 6-4 lead.

However, King center Doug Smith scored his second goal with one second left. Smith had tied the score at 4-4 when he scored on a power play off a pass from center Bernie Nicholls with 9:52 left in the third period. Nicholls had one goal and two assists.

“I think we played well enough to win or at least get a tie,” Smith said. “But it’s just unfortunate that they had to get a lucky goal.”

Trailing, 2-0, after Wilson and Loob scored goals just 1 minute 58 seconds apart in the first period, the Kings scored three consecutive goals in the second period to take a 3-2 lead into the final period.

Defenseman Craig Redmond, Nicholls and right wing Bryan Erickson scored for the Kings in the second period.

The Flames got a pep talk from center Doug Risebrough during the second-period intermission.

“I wouldn’t want to mess with him when he’s in that state of mind,” Wilson said.

The Flames outscored the Kings, 4-2, in the third period to run their unbeaten streak at home to nine consecutive games (7-0-2). The Flames have a 16-8-3 overall record and are in second place in the Smythe Division behind Edmonton.

King Notes King defenseman Garry Galley will be out for at least 10 weeks with a knee injury after undergoing arthroscopic surgery Tuesday in Inglewood. Galley injured his right knee when he slid into the goal post after a collision with Jet center Thomas Steen in the second period of last Sunday’s 4-1 win over Winnipeg. X-rays taken at a Winnipeg hospital for a broken knee cap were negative, but it was discovered that Galley has a partial ligament tear and torn cartilage. He will be in a cast for three weeks and will begin therapy afterward. Galley was tied for fifth in scoring on the team with eight goals and seven assists. . . . Flame captain Jim Peplinski missed the game with the flu. It snapped a streak of 106 consecutive games. . . The Kings play the Flames again here Thursday night. The Olympic Saddledome is being used tonight for a concert. . . . The Kings are holding a bowling tournament after practice today.