Gretzky Gets 1st Goal, but Kings Beaten

Wayne Gretzky scored his 1st goal as a King, but the euphoria was short-lived. The Kings blew a 2-goal lead to the Vancouver Canucks, who tied the score with 2 seconds left in regulation, then won, 4-3, on an unassisted goal by Paul Lawless 1:26 into overtime.

Gretzky’s goal, which came on the power play at 5:23 of the 3rd period, had given the Kings a 3-1 lead. Gretzky lifted the rebound of Tim Tookey’s shot from the left point into the unprotected right side of the net, beating Vancouver goalie Franck Caprice.

Moments later, Gretzky and linemate Bernie Nicholls broke away for a 2-on-1, but Nicholls’ lead pass to Gretzky bounced over his stick.

The Canucks, who had beaten the Kings, 7-4, on Saturday night in Victoria, British Columbia, cut the lead to 3-2 at 12:04 when Petri Skriko beat rookie goalie Mark Fitzpatrick from short range on a pretty feed by Barry Pederson.