Late Controversial Call Helps North Stars Get a Tie With Kings, 4-4

The Kings had lost three games in a row, often complaining that they felt like third parties to their own games. They were disconnected, not in control.

It was a hard irony Tuesday night that had the Kings at last playing a disciplined, intense game, a game they had well in hand--only to have a third party yank control away. The Kings watched helplessly as referee Bob Hall assessed a penalty with 1:47 left to play, giving the Minnesota North Stars a power play and a chance to do something about the Kings’ 4-3 lead.

They did. Dino Ciccarelli’s goal at 19:13 sent the game into overtime, where it ended in a 4-4 tie for the Kings (25-31-8) and the North Stars (28-28-8), before 8,598 in the Forum.

A controversial roughing penalty assessed to King defenseman Jay Wells gave Minnesota the man advantage.

The North Stars had pulled their goaltender to give them an extra attacker. Ciccarelli scored about seven seconds after the goaltender left the ice.

What the Kings were wondering, and fuming about after the game, was why Hall chose to call a roughing penalty after allowing the teams to maul each other, unchecked, for the entire third period.

King Coach Mike Murphy said he didn’t see Wells and Minnesota’s Neal Broten tangle. But, said Murphy: “Any call in the neutral zone is a bad call. There was so much slashing going on out there (and) nothing was being called.”

By Jim Fox’s count, it was the third time this season that Hall has called a penalty on the Kings late in the game.

The Kings trailed, 2-1, going into the third period, but they scored two goals in the first two minutes to take the lead for the first time.

Jimmy Carson took a pass from Dave (Tiger) Williams and scored from the left side at 1:12 to tie it.

Then the Kings connected on a series of passes 37 seconds later for the go-ahead goal. Fox started the play with a pass to Peter Dineen. Dineen slipped the puck to Bob Bourne, who scored at 1:49.

Minnesota goaltender Don Beaupre, who played exceptionally well in the first two periods, wasn’t happy with Bourne’s goal.

“He shoots it 20 feet wide and it goes off a guy’s skate.”

Including Dave Taylor’s goal at the end of the second period, the Kings scored three goals in 2:17.

That’s the kind of goal production of which the team is capable. The Kings seldom lack for scoring chances, and Tuesday night was no different. They outshot the North Stars, 41-29.

The Kings’ lead was short-lived. Bob Brooke took a cross-ice pass from Brian Lawton to score from the right side at 3:55 and tie it at 3-3.

Fox flipped a high shot to give the Kings their 4-3 lead that held until Ciccarelli’s goal.

The mental errors and lack of intensity from previous games was noticeably absent in the first two periods Tuesday night.

Fittingly, Taylor took the first shot on goal for the Kings. The team captain had missed the past 12 games with a sprained knee. He said he wasn’t even sure he was going to play, but he performed his usual yeoman’s job.

The slumping Kings were in need of Taylor’s leadership. His presence on the ice adds immeasurably to the Kings’ strength.

“It’s just a good feeling in the dressing room, knowing that he’s going to be out there,” Fox said.

As they had against the North Stars last Saturday, the Kings came out fast.

Marcel Dionne got loose on a breakaway, but his shot caught Minnesota goaltender Don Beaupre on the pads. Then, forward Sean McKenna hit a slap shot from the blue line that hit the post.

While the Kings failed to convert on their first power play, the North Stars did. Ciccarelli got the rebound of Brad Maxwell’s shot and gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead at 15:47.

The Kings had another power play at the end of the period but failed to convert that, too. The Kings were 0-4 on the power play, while the North Stars were 2-3.

The Kings killed a key power play halfway through the second period. It was at that critical juncture--as the North Stars’ power play ended--that Minnesota appeared to go offsides at the Kings blue line.

Seconds later, Ciccarelli took a hard shot that teammate Brian MacLellan tipped in.

The Kings were pressuring in the North Star zone in the waning seconds of the period. Dionne took the puck at the Minnesota blue line and passed to Taylor, who scored from the right side.

“More than anything, we needed a goal to get us going,” Taylor said. “I was fortunate enough to get it.”

King Notes King forward Morris Lukowich was knocked down in front of the Minnesota goal in the second period and slid hard into the goal post. He bruised his right calf and left the game for the rest of the period, but returned to the bench in the third. Defenseman Grant Ledyard injured his shoulder late in the game, leaving the Kings with just five defensemen. . . . Dave (Tiger) Williams’ assist in the second period was his 500th NHL point. . . . Ron Wilson, the North Stars’ All-Star defenseman, checked into a Minneapolis hospital Tuesday for treatment of kidney stones. His return is indefinite. . . . Dino Ciccarelli’s second power-play goal in the third period was his 21st of the season, setting a club record. . . . The Kings had dedicated the game to a fan, Paul Nolan. Nolan, 21, died of cancer last Friday.