King Problems Continue; Maple Leafs Win, 5-4

After the game here Wednesday night, in which the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Kings, 5-4, the organist at Maple Leaf Gardens launched into a peppy rendition of ‘Happy Days Are Here Again.’

For the Maple Leafs, nearly all the happy days recently have come this week. The first happy day was Monday, when Toronto soundly beat Philadelphia, 8-4. To better understand this, know that the Maple Leafs (21-28-5) are last in the Norris Division, and the Flyers (35-16-4) are one of the best teams in the National Hockey League.

The second happy day is today, after getting its start Wednesday night. The 16,382 fans could hardly believe their good fortune. After a six-game losing streak, their team had won two in a row, at home, yet.

For the Kings (22-25-6), who are 0-3 on this trip, it was like old times when fancy drop passes end up on the wrong sticks, when the penalty killing unit fell down on the job and when the Kings can put together two periods of consistent hockey, but not three.

“We haven’t had a good, 60-minute effort like we had a month ago,” King goaltender Darren Eliot said.

The Kings allowed three power-play goals in four attempts. Two of them came in the second period when the Kings were listless and flat.

“We came out in the second half and we were kind of content, we thought we had them on the ropes,” said King defenseman Dean Kennedy.

Far from it. Both teams played a strong first period, but the Kings were clearly in control. They out-shot the Maple Leafs, 12-7, and scored on both of their power-play chances.

However, Eliot allowed two goals on only seven shots.

“He didn’t give up any easy goals, but he didn’t make the big save, either,” said King assistant coach Phil Myre. On the other end of the ice, Toronto goaltender Ken Wregget was having a fine night and made key saves in the third period.

However, the most-spectacular save was made by the crossbar, as King forward Jim Fox was frustrated by a close call the second time in two games.

Sunday night in Quebec City, Fox had a shot that clearly bounced off the back of the net and out. The goal was not allowed because the goal judge did not see the puck. Wednesday night, Fox had a slap shot in the third period that bounced off the crossbar and out.

In the second period, the Kings could not stop anything, with Toronto scoring on two power plays.

“Your special teams have to come through for you, they didn’t, though,” King Coach Mike Murphy said of his team’s penalty killing, which is ranked 18th in the league. “Our penalty killing has been an area that we have to improve on if we want to be a better team. We will improve on it.”

The Maple Leafs scored at 2:41 in the third period for a 5-2 lead. Borje Salming took a hard shot, Eliot made the pad save, and Brad Smith scored on the rebound.

The Kings then mounted a counter-attack when Marcel Dionne and Bernie Nicholls scored, but once again it was a familiar story--too little and too late.

King Notes

Toronto owner Harold Ballard headed off a brief takeover attempt of the Maple Leafs locker room by reporters after the game. Because Ballard does not believe that women reporters should be allowed in the locker room, Toronto has been the only NHL team whose locker room is closed to everyone. To accommodate sports writers, some players are brought into a hallway after the game for interviews. Wednesday night, reporters--in an unprecedented show of solidarity--stormed en masse into Toronto’s locker room. The group got inside and quickly began conducting interviews of stunned players. About three minutes later the 83-year-old Ballard, arrived and began to shoo reporters out--cussing loudly and assuming various boxing poses. Ballard rushed at one photographer and knocked his camera equipment to the ground. Little was solved by the skirmish, as reporters here don’t expect the situation to change. ‘Just trying to make a point,’ sighed one reporter. . . . The Kings’ injury roster is beginning to resemble the Maple Leafs’. Toronto has the NHL’s longest injury list, with nine players out. Kings’ captain Dave Taylor missed the game with a sprained right knee, veteran defenseman Jay Wells was hit in the eye with a puck in Tuesday’s practice and did not play, defenseman Craig Redmond had returned to Los Angeles to have his right knee, which required surgery earlier in the season, examined by the team’s doctors who said Tuesday he was suffering from tendinitis. . . . Bryan Erickson crashed into the boards in the second period and suffered a concussion, but is expected to play Friday in Winnipeg.