Kings Beat Flames, Keep Home Fires Burning, 5-2

That’s Jimmy Carson and Luc Robitaille of the Kings peering out through sunglasses from the cover of the April 8 issue of the Hockey News.

The Kings, though, aren’t ready just yet to break out the rest of their summer gear.

They beat the Calgary Flames, 5-2, in Game 3 of their Smythe Division semifinal playoff series Saturday night at the Forum, getting two goals from Jimmy Carson before a sellout crowd of 16,005 at the Forum.

And, though they still trail in the best-of-seven series, 2-1, they can pull even with another victory tonight in Game 4.

The Kings clamped down defensively on the National Hockey League’s most potent offensive team, limiting the high-scoring Flames to 30 shots and killing all eight penalties against the NHL’s most efficient power play.

Meanwhile, the Kings, who hadn’t won a home playoff game since 1982, scored three goals in a season-high 13 power-play opportunities as the teams combined for 158 minutes in penalties.

The Kings, who never led in the first two games of the series, opened the scoring at 12 minutes 42 seconds of the first period.

Carson took a flip pass from Craig Laughlin at the Calgary blue line, skated diagonally from left to right into the right circle and let fly a 25-foot shot that beat goaltender Mike Vernon to the short side.

Only 1:16 later, Colin Patterson pulled the Flames even, scoring a short-handed goal with teammate Perry Berezan in the penalty box for slashing.

Joel Otto chased down a loose puck in the neutral zone, skated around Chris Kontos down the left side and, when defenseman Tom Laidlaw came over to pick him up, slid a pass through the slot to Patterson.

Patterson beat rookie goaltender Glenn Healy, who made his second straight start for the Kings, with a 15-foot shot from the right circle.

The Kings regained the lead at 4:38 of the second period, getting a power-play goal from Bernie Nicholls, who beat Vernon with a 25-foot shot from the left circle into the lower right corner of the net.

Nursing the lead, the Kings then brought the crowd to life midway through the period, killing off a 30-second two-man disadvantage with Fenton and Steve Duchesne in the penalty box.

Then, as Fenton emerged from the penalty box, he skated to the center of the ice and leveled Flame defenseman Brad McCrimmon.

When Healy made a glove save on a shot by Hakan Loob only a few seconds later, the crowd erupted.

Healy stopped Loob again on a breakaway about a minute later, prompting the crowd to chant the goaltender’s name.

The crowd grew even louder when Luc Robitaille scored his first goal of the series at 15:15 of the second period, firing a 25-foot shot between Vernon’s legs from the left circle.

The power-play goal was set up when Al MacInnis, who also was in the penalty box when Nicholls scored, made an ill-advised play, grabbing Carson’s right shoulder and throwing the King center to the ice.

The Kings killed off another two-man disadvantage later in the period, then took a 4-1 lead 36 seconds into the third period on a goal by Bob Carpenter. Nicholls brought the puck down the left side, but lost it in front of the net. Carpenter pounced on it, banging a 10-foot shot off the inside of the left post and into the net.

Dana Murzyn pulled the Flames to within 4-2 at 7:31, taking a pass in the slot from John Tonelli and beating Healy with a shot into the upper right corner of the net.

At 14:08, Carson scored his second goal, diving and swinging his stick at a rebound in the slot, sending it off the inside of the left post.

King Notes

The Kings hadn’t won a home playoff game since the “Miracle on Manchester” on April 10, 1982, when they rallied from a 5-0 third-period deficit to beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-5, in overtime. . . . The Kings twice had 10 power-play opportunities and once had 11 against the Flames in the regular season. They never had more than nine against any other opponent. . . . According to the Sporting News, a trade proposed by the Kings last month would have brought goaltender Andy Moog to the Kings and sent goaltender Rollie Melanson, defenseman Jay Wells and a draft choice to the Edmonton Oilers. Oiler General Manager Glen Sather turned down the offer, the Sporting News reported. Moog was later traded to the Boston Bruins. . . . In a poll of Detroit Red Wing players conducted by Cynthia Lambert of the Detroit News, defenseman Rob Ramage of the Flames was picked as the National Hockey League’s most overrated player and teammate Tim Hunter was chosen as the league’s ugliest player. . . . Larry Playfair, who missed six games with a bruise below his left shoulder, returned to the lineup for the first time since March 23.