Ledyard Ends Slump, Helps Kings Win, 6-4

Defenseman Grant Ledyard of the Kings went almost two months without scoring a goal.

But Ledyard continued breaking out of his slump by scoring two goals Saturday night as the Kings opened a five-game trip with a 6-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs before 15,729 fans at Maple Leaf Gardens.

It was the third win in the last four games for the Kings (11-22-4), who moved within two points of the fourth-place Winnipeg Jets in the Smythe Division.

Ledyard, who scored his first goal as a King in a 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers Thursday night, has three goals in his last two games. He was traded to the Kings, along with goalie Roland Melanson, from the New York Rangers last month for left wing Brian MacLellan.

Ledyard scored both of his goals in the second period, in which the Kings outscored the Maple Leafs, 4-1, and took a 5-3 lead. Toronto had led, 2-1, after the first period.

Ledyard’s first goal came on a power-play just 53 seconds into the second period and tied the score at 2-2. After Toronto went ahead, 3-2, on a goal by center Dan Daoust, Ledyard got his second goal, at 3:32 on a slap shot from the left wing boards. The Kings then scored three unanswered goals before the Maple Leafs scored with 1:10 left in the game.

“You always wonder when you’re going to get a goal,” Ledyard said. “It had been two months since I had one.”

Said King Coach Pat Quinn: “Grant is a good puck-handler and he’s got a good shot. We hated to trade Brian MacLellan, but it was something we couldn’t turn down.”

The line of center Marcel Dionne, right wing Dave Taylor and left wing Joe Paterson, which has been together for just three games, accounted for three goals.

Taylor had one goal and two assists, while Dionne and Paterson each had one goal and one assist. Paterson also won a first-period fight with Maple Leaf defenseman Bob McGill.

Center Bernie Nicholls scored the other King goal on a power-play goal in the second period to break a 3-3 tie.

“In the last few games we have been playing pretty well,” Taylor said. “We’re starting to get a good effort for the full 60 minutes.”

Said Dionne: “This was an important game for us because we were trying to gain ground on Winnipeg and Vancouver.”

Said Quinn: “Marcel was sharp tonight, and his line was dangerous all the time. They had a big adjustment to make when we put them together. Marcel and Dave are offensive players, and Joe is a good defensive player.”

Paterson came to the Kings from the Philadelphia Flyers last month after the Kings’ bought out his contract. He hasn’t had time to find an apartment and is living in a hotel across the street from the Forum.

Paterson has also had some adjustment to make on the ice. He said he was overwhelmed by playing on the same line with Dionne and Taylor.

“It’s a heck of a line to be put on,” he said. “At first maybe I was trying to make too many fancy plays. I was passing when I should have been shooting.”

Paterson, whose family lives in Toronto, had a big group of family and friends at the game rooting for him.

“I had to buy 16 tickets for them,” Paterson said. “I always want to play well at home. My mom and dad were here and I had two brothers and a sister, too. I also had a lot of close friends here.”

The Maple Leafs led, 2-0, before the Kings got going. Quinn said the Kings were tentative at the start of the game.

Toronto scored twice in a 3-minute 42-second span of the first period. Center Tom Fergus scored his 13th goal of the season off a two-on-one break with 12:45 left in the period. Fergus took a pass from left wing Steve Thomas and beat King goalie Bob Janecyk to the glove side.

Thomas scored with 9:03 left in the first period off a pass from right wing Brad Smith.

“There was no question in my mind that we weren’t out of it when the score was 2-0,” Dionne said.

Dionne scored the Kings’ first goal of the game off a pass from Taylor with 5:20 left in the first period.

Ledyard tied the score at 2-2 when he scored on a power play on a 15-foot shot off a pass from Dionne 53 seconds into the second period.

However, the Leafs took a 3-2 lead at 1:46 of the second period when Daoust scored on a shot that went into the net off Janecyk’s left skate.

Ledyard scored his second goal on a 40-foot slap shot from the left wing boards to tie the game at 3-3 at 1:46.

The Kings had a power play after Toronto defenseman Gary Nylund knocked Anders Hakansson into the net and was penalized for holding with 5:43 left in the second period.

Nicholls scored a power-play goal on a rebound of a shot by right wing Brian Erickson to give the Kings a 4-3 lead with 4:54 left in the second period.

Taylor scored off a pass from Paterson with 3:17 left to give the Kings a 5-3 lead going into the third period.

Paterson scored his second goal of the season off a pass from Taylor at 12:48 of the third period to make it 6-3.

Toronto left wing Wendel Clark, returning to the lineup after missing 14 games with a broken foot, scored with 1:10 left.