Kings Use Their ‘Nicholls Offense’ in 9-6 Win Over Jets

Coach Pat Quinn said Bernie Nicholls “had an awesome game” for the Kings Saturday night, and nobody was arguing the point.

Nicholls scored three goals as the Kings rallied to beat the Winnipeg Jets, 9-6, before 12,877 fans at the Winnipeg Arena.

It was Nicholls’ eighth career hat trick. The center also assisted on an empty-net goal by left wing Phil Sykes.

The Kings trailed, 6-4, midway through the second period but scored five consecutive goals to win their second straight game and move back into third place in the Smythe Division, one point ahead of Vancouver and three ahead of Winnipeg.

The Kings (17-27-7) will play the Jets here again tonight to close out the two-game set. They are 5-0 against Winnipeg this season.

Nicholls, who scored a first-period goal, also had consecutive goals in the third period that tied the score at 6-6 with 14:05 left in the game. He scored a power-play goal with 4:44 left in the second period to close the King deficit to 6-5, and he got the game-tying goal off a pass from right wing Bryan Erickson.

“I haven’t been playing well lately and I was getting down on myself,” Nicholls said. “But tonight, I got lucky. I could have had two or three more goals.

“My entire line played well. Bryan (Erickson), had a goal, and Morris (Lukowich) had one, too. You’ve got to give them a lot of credit.”

Defenseman Grant Ledyard scored what turned out to be the game-winner with 7:27 left in the third period. Ledyard intercepted a clearing pass by Jet left wing Doug Smail in the Winnipeg zone and scored an unassisted goal on a shot from the right circle to give the Kings a 7-6 lead. Ledyard also had one assist.

Ledyard’s goal was a big one for him personally, as well. He was born in Winnipeg and still lives here in the off-season, about 10 minutes from the rink.

Ledyard’s late father, Hal, was a back-up quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers under Coach Bud Grant in the 1960s, when the team won consecutive Canadian Football League titles, and his mother is a secretary for the current team.

“This goal ranks in the top three that I’ve ever scored,” Ledyard said. “My mom had a great view of it, too. She was right along the glass (at ice level). It always feels good to come back to Winnipeg, although no one else likes to come here.”

King captain Dave Taylor added an insurance goal when he scored on a breakaway with 1:51 left in the game. Taylor also assisted on a goal by center Marcel Dionne in the second period. King defenseman Jay Wells, Mark Hardy and Dean Kennedy each had two assists.

The score was tied five times, and the lead changed hands four times.

The Kings scored first, Erickson connecting at 1:45 of the first period for his third goal in the last two games. But the Jets tied on a disputed goal by center Dale Hawerchuk with 12:35 left in the period.

Hawerchuk deflected a shot by defenseman Randy Carlyle into the net for his 33rd goal of the season. The puck hit the crossbar and bounced back onto the ice. The goal judge never turned on the light. However, referee Ron Wicks ruled that it was a goal, and it appeared from a TV replay that the puck had indeed crossed the goal line before coming back out.

King goalie Darren Eliot was furious after Wicks’ ruling. Eliot charged out to the blue line, banging his stick on the ice, all to no avail.

However, the Kings regained the lead when Nicholls scored his 23rd goal of the season, this one on a deflection of a shot by Jay Wells with 11:01 left in the opening period.

But the Jets scored back-to-back goals to take a 3-2 lead into the second period.

Defenseman Dave Ellett scored a power-play goal with 9:33 left to tie the score at 2-2 with 9:33 left.

Defenseman Larry Playfair, playing his first game for the Kings after being traded from Buffalo Wednesday night, gave away the puck in the King zone, and it resulted in the go-ahead goal by Carlyle with 3:48 left in the opening period.

However, the Kings scored two straight goals to regain the lead.

Dionne scored just 43 seconds into the second period to tie it at 3-3 and Lukowich, a former Jet, scored on a rebound of a shot by Ledyard at 6:40.

But the Jets then scored three consecutive goals to take a 6-4 lead.

Center Thomas Steen tied it at 4-4 when he scored his 12th goal of the season with 11:07 left in the second period. The Jets scored again just 46 seconds later when Hawerchuk set up a goal by teammate Paul MacLean. Hawerchuk stole the puck off the stick of King rookie center Brian Wilks in front of the net and passed to MacLean.

Center Bill Derlago, acquired Thursday from the Boston Bruins, scored his first goal for the Jets with 8:51 left to make it 6-4.

King Notes Left wing Morris Lukowich of the Kings changed his uniform number from 10 to 12. He had worn 12 throughout his professional career until he was picked up by the Kings on waivers from the Boston Bruins earlier this season. “I didn’t feel comfortable wearing number 10,” Lukowich said. “And, the jersey didn’t fit. It was too big for me.” . . . Right wing Sean McKenna is wearing 10. McKenna was acquired by the Kings from the Buffalo Sabres for center Doug Smith and defenseman Brian Engblom late Wednesday, along with defenseman Larry Playfair.