Stanley Cup Finals : Gretzky Gives Oilers 4-2 Win, 2-0 Edge

When Wayne Gretzky missed 16 games this season with knee and eye injuries, it probably cost him his ninth Hart Trophy as the most valuable player in the National Hockey League.

What it also did, however, was leave him refreshed for the playoffs, much to the chagrin of the rest of the league.

Friday night, Gretzky had a hand in three goals, assisting on the first two and scoring the game-winner with 8 minutes 39 seconds left, as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Boston Bruins, 4-2, in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals before a crowd of 17,502 at the Northlands Coliseum.

The victory gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead in the series, which moves to the Boston Garden for Games 3 and 4 Sunday and Tuesday nights.

“I guess I should thank the big guy in Philadelphia that hurt him because he’s like a young kid who’s got a ton of energy right now,” Oiler Coach Glen Sather said. “It seems like he can’t be on the ice too much.”

Gretzky missed 13 games with a knee injury after colliding with Kjell Samuelsson of the Philadelphia Flyers in a game Dec. 30.

“It was the best thing that could have happened to my career and the best thing that could have happened to this team,” Gretzky said of the time he spent on the sidelines. “I had played a lot of hockey over the last 10 years and loved every minute of it. But mentally, you just need a break.”

Gretzky’s 80th career playoff goal, which moved him into third place on the all-time list, broke a 2-2 tie and came after Esa Tikkanen stepped in front of a clearing pass by Bruin defenseman Glen Wesley.

“I just saw he was looking to make a wide pass and I just turned around that way and caught it,” Tikkanen said. “I felt it hit my legs and saw it and just passed it to Wayne.”

Said Wesley: “It was a bad pass.”

Gretzky, skating in alone on Bruin goaltender Rejean Lemelin, took the pass from Tikkanen, faked a shot, cut into the middle slightly and slid the puck under the right armpit of the diving goaltender.

Jari Kurri added an empty-net goal with seven seconds left for the Oilers, who again bottled up the Bruins defensively.

The Bruins, limited to 14 shots on goal in a 2-1 loss in Game 1, had only 12 shots this time, the fewest ever allowed by the Oilers in a playoff game. And after getting goals from Bob Joyce and Ken Linseman in the first 3:16 of the third period to erase a 2-0 deficit, they managed only one shot the rest of the way.

“I’m not sure if we’re playing that well defensively or they’re playing that cautiously on offense,” Sather said.

The Oilers scored twice in the last 4:03 of the first period, taking advantage of a pair of 5-on-3 opportunities after a spirited, tight-checking first 15 minutes.

Bruin defensemen Gord Kluzak and Ray Bourque were in the penalty box for high-sticking when Glenn Anderson, stationed to the right of the net, re-directed a shot from the point by Gretzky through Lemelin’s legs at 15:57.

Then, after Lemelin drew a delay-of-game penalty for clearing the puck into the crowd and teammate Randy Burridge was called for high-sticking the Oilers’ Craig Simpson, Mark Messier was stationed to the left of the net when he re-directed a pass from Gretzky high into the net at 19:30.

“To give a 5-on-3 in a Stanley Cup final, the second penalty has to be really legitimate,” Bruin Coach Terry O’Reilly said. “We got three called against us in just over a period and a half. I can’t understand that.”

The Bruins, limited to only two shots on goal in the second period, held the Oilers scoreless in their third 5-on-3 opportunity toward the end of the period, then cut the deficit to 2-1 at 35 seconds of the third period when a 40-foot shot by Joyce slid through the legs of Oiler goaltender Grant Fuhr.

Less than a minute later, Moe Lemay took a pass from Keith Crowder and shot at an empty net as Fuhr was caught out of position.

His shot, however, hit the skate of a hustling Gretzky, who usually doesn’t venture that deep into the Oiler zone, and bounced away.

“He’s a marvelous hockey player,” Sather said of Gretzky. “He’s playing like he normally does on offense and he’s also making good defensive plays.”

Linseman pulled the Bruins even at 3:16, chasing down the rebound of his own shot and lifting a shot over the fallen Fuhr.

Stanley Cup Notes

Only Mike Bossy, who scored 85 for the New York Islanders, and Maurice Richard, who scored 82 for the Montreal Canadiens, have more playoff goals than Wayne Gretzky. . . . Gretzky is the all-time playoff leader with 163 assists and 243 points. . . . The Oilers are 14-2 in the playoffs, including a 10-0 record at the Northlands Coliseum. . . . Rejean Lemelin’s career record against the Oilers fell to 6-21-4. . . . The Bruins have failed to score in nine power-play opportunities. . . . Referee Don Koharski was a replacement for Andy van Hellemond, who was unable to work because of a groin injury. . . . The 14 shots on goal attempted by the Bruins in Game 1 were the fewest allowed by the Oilers in a playoff game since they allowed 14 in a 13-3 victory over the Kings in Game 2 of a Smythe Division semifinal series last season.