Kings Spring Nice Little 9-7 Surprise on Calgary : L.A. Is Without Seven of Its Regulars but Still Is Able to Snuff Flames’ Streak

The Kings’ No. 1 priority going into Wednesday night’s game at the Forum was to get their injured players hale and hearty for the National Hockey League playoffs, which start next Wednesday.

So, seven regulars, including suspended center Bernie Nicholls, watched the game in street clothes.

For the Calgary Flames, the main objective was to sew up first place in the NHL’s overall standings and all that goes with it: Home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs, the President’s Trophy and $200,000.

What a surprise, then, that the Kings defeated the Flames, 9-7, scoring a season-high five power-play goals and ending the Flames’ 10-game unbeaten streak before a crowd of 13,230 at the Forum.

“I think we were trying to send them a message,” said Jimmy Carson of the Flames, who will meet the Kings in a first-round playoff series.

Carson and Luc Robitaille each had 6 points for the Kings, equaling a club record and surpassing the 100-point plateau.

Robitaille scored 2 goals and assisted on 4 others, giving last season’s NHL rookie of the year 104 points.

Carson scored 4 goals, equaling another club record, and assisted on 2 others, increasing his team-leading totals to 55 goals and 106 points.

No U.S.-born player has scored more goals or had more points in one season than the 19-year-old native of Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., whose hat trick was his fifth of the season and second in as many games.

The two assists were Carson’s 50th and 51st, making him the first American-born player to get 50 goals and 50 assists in the same season.

“It’s a nice honor,” Carson said. “We Americans are pretty proud.”

In his last 11 games, Carson has 22 points, including 14 goals.

In seven games against the Flames, he has 11 goals and 9 assists.

“I’ve been really hot,” Carson said. “It seems like everything I’m shooting is going in the net.”

The Flames had been hot, too. They were 8-0-2 since their last loss March 7, and last week they clinched the Smythe Division championship.

“It was a big win for us,” said Carson, whose 106 points are one more than Neal Broten had for the Minnesota North Stars in the 1985-86 season. “It’s important to get us ready for the playoffs.”

The Flames, who lead the NHL in power-play efficiency, scored twice during first-period manpower advantages, opening a 3-2 lead.

After Carson scored on a rebound just 2 minutes 56 seconds into the game, the Flames scored three times in a 6:35 span to take a 3-1 lead at 13:48.

With Ken Baumgartner and Steve Duchesne in the penalty box for the Kings, Mike Bullard took a pass from Al MacInnis at the right post and rifled a shot past goaltender Glenn Healy at 7:17.

Hakan Loob added a second power-play goal on a 25-foot shot from the left circle at 11:33 and Colin Patterson scored an even-strength goal for the Flames at 13:48, re-directing a shot by Joel Otto.

Carson cut the Flames’ lead to 3-2 at 14:56, lifting a rebound off the glove of goaltender Doug Dadswell.

Jim Peplinski’s 35-foot shot from the right circle put the Flames ahead, 4-2, 47 seconds into the second period, but the Kings made up the deficit and took a 5-4 lead at 13:26.

Carson scored his third goal on a shot from the slot at 2:56. Robitaille pulled the Kings even with a power-play goal at 10:12, then scored on a breakaway at 13:26.

Gary Suter pulled the Flames even only 37 seconds later, scoring on a shot from the left point, but the Kings dominated the third period.

John English put the Kings ahead to stay at 1:34 of the first period, scoring his first NHL goal on a 45-foot shot from the right point.

Duchesne’s 15th goal, scored from the left point, put the Kings ahead, 7-5, at 5:39.

Then, after Al MacInnis scored on a 50-foot shot for the Flames at 7:02, the Kings got a fourth goal from Carson at 12:19.

At 18:14, Carson assisted on a goal by Paul Fenton that gave the Kings a 9-6 lead over a Flame team that had lost only once since Feb. 17.

King Notes

Bob Carpenter, who scored 53 goals for the Washington Capitals in the 1984-85 season, said the impact on his career of being the first U.S.-born player to surpass the 50-goal plateau has been mostly financial. “I found out goal-scorers make a lot more than two-way players,” said Carpenter, who was rewarded after his big year with a four-year contract that reportedly is worth almost $400,000 a year, including deferred payments. Carpenter, 24, said the passage of time has helped him more fully appreciate the magnitude of his accomplishment. “You can’t go out and get 50 goals every year unless you’re a (Wayne) Gretzky or a (Mike) Bossy,” he said. “There are only a few players like that, and I’m not one of them. You’ve got to be very lucky to get 50. I don’t know if I’ll ever do it again.” How about teammate Jimmy Carson, who last week became the second American-born player to surpass the 50-goal plateau? “I think he has a better chance of getting 50 again than I do, but that’s the way he plays,” said Carpenter, who has 19 goals in 69 games this season. “He’s a better goal-scorer than I am.”

Goaltender Robb Stauber of the University of Minnesota, a sixth-round draft pick of the Kings in 1986, was named Wednesday as winner of the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s player of the year. Stauber, a sophomore, has led the Gophers into this weekend’s NCAA Final Four. . . . Several King team awards were handed out between the first and second periods. They included: most valuable player--Jimmy Carson; most inspirational--Dave Taylor; outstanding defenseman--Tom Laidlaw; unsung hero--Laidlaw; most popular--Luc Robitaille; rookies of the year--Glenn Healy and Ken Hammond.

Ken Baumgartner was ejected after being involved in three fights in the first 30 minutes 8 seconds. . . . The Kings will end the regular season with a two-game trip, playing the Calgary Flames Friday night and the Edmonton Oilers Sunday night. . . . Bernie Nicholls, suspended for five games for swinging his stick at Ulf Samuelsson of the Hartford Whalers March 9 in a game at Hartford, Conn., will return to the lineup Friday night. . . . Average attendance for the Kings’ 40 home games was 11,667, an increase from last season of 1,023.