Bossy and Islanders Show Kings Who’s Boss

Rock fans may call Bruce Sprinsteen the Boss, but for hockey fans the Boss is right wing Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders.

Bossy has never failed to score less than 50 goals since he broke into the National Hockey League in 1977.

And, he’s having another fantastic season.

Bossy scored two goals as the Islanders beat the Kings, 4-3, Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 16,005 fans at the Forum.

“I’d rate him (Bossy) in the superstar category,” King Coach Pat Quinn said. “He doesn’t waste anything once he has the puck. And he can work both ways. Many times your great goal scorers are just one-way players, but not him.”

The score was tied at 2-2 after the second period, but the Islanders scored two quick goals at the start of the third period.

Bossy broke the tie just 1:58 into the final period when he scored his 40th goal of the season on a power play off a faceoff.

The Islanders scored again just 34 seconds after Bossy’s goal when left wing Bob Bourne scored an unassisted goal at 2:32 of the third period to make it 4-2.

Islander center Brent Sutter won a faceoff from Marcel Dionne and fed Bossy for the tiebreaking goal.

“That kind of play is hard to cover,” Bossy said. “I had three to four feet to start off with.

“We came out ready for the third period. We started out slowly. I guess we were a little surprised that they (the Kings) were hitting so well.”

Said King defenseman Jay Wells: “He’s (Bossy) is an unbelievable player. I remember a game where he got four goals against us a couple of years ago. He comes out of nowhere and he’s got an unbelievable slap shot.”

Bossy also scored a second-period goal off a pass from Bryan Trottier. Bossy has 9 goals and 14 assists in his last 9 games.

Bossy just missed getting his third goal with 25 seconds left when his shot hit the post after the Kings had pulled goalie Darren Eliot for an extra skater with 45 seconds left.

The Islanders, who won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980-83, are one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League, posting a record of 8-2-1 in their last 11 games.

“We’re playing more of a team game,” Islander Coach Al Arbour said. “More people are contributing, whether it’s on the score sheet or checking.”

The Kings (17-30-6) have lost three straight games.

Trailing, 4-2, the Kings cut the Islanders’ lead to one goal with 9:26 left in the game when right wing Joe Paterson scored his fifth goal of the season.

The Kings had a chance to tie it with 1:32 left in the game, but Islanders goalie Kelly Hrudey made a pad save on a shot Dionne.

Dionne got involved in a scuffle with Islander defenseman Randy Boyd just after that. Both players were penalized for roughing.

“Dionne came in so quickly and without looking he took a low wrist shot at the right hand corner,” Hrudey said. “Boyd and him got tangled up. It was a big play by Randy Boyd because they (the Kings) lost Dionne for the last minute of the game.”

The Kings, who were embarrassed by Calgary, 7-2, Thursday night, played well in the first period against the Islanders.

The Kings led, 1-0, going into the second period after right wing Dave Taylor scored a power play goal when he put in a rebound of a shot by left wing Dave (Tiger) Williams for his 24th goal of the season.

But Bossy tied it at 1-1 at 1:34 of the second period when he scored off a pass from Trottier.

The Kings went ahead, 2-1, with 3:58 left when center Bernie Nicholls set up a goal by right wing Bryan Erickson.

However, the Islanders tied it at 2-2 just 13 seconds later when right wing Duane Sutter scored his 15th goal of the season on a backhander.

“We made a couple of mistakes and we came up with nothing,” Quinn said. “We went to sleep on the faceoff after we went ahead 2-1.”

There was a big fight at the end of the second period which resulted in referee Mike Noeth handing out a game misconduct to Islanders rookie Ari Haanpaa and 10-minute misconducts to Boyd and Trottier. King defenseman Mark Hardy and Erickson also got 10-minute misconducts.

King Notes

Islanders defenseman Denis Potvin, who has scored more goals than any other defenseman in NHL history, missed the game with a groin injury. “I’m still not feeling right,” Potvin said. “We’ve got some big games coming up so I didn’t want to aggravate it.” Potvin hopes to return next Tuesday for a game against Vancouver. . . . King defenseman Mark Hardy, who changed his number from 20 to 25 earlier this season because he said he was tired of zeroes, switched to No. 5, which he wore during his junior career. The number became availble when defenseman Brian Engblom was traded to the Buffalo Sabres last month. . . . The Kings play the Calgary Flames tonight at 7:30. . . . Announcer Bob Miller, who broadcast his 1,000th Kings game, was honored between the first and second periods. King captain Dave Taylor presented Miller with a golden microphone. He also received a video tape recorder and camera and got a congratulatory letter from President Reagan. .