It Takes 5 Goals in the Third Period to Give Kings, Gretzky First Victory

As the dawning of new eras go, this one looked suspiciously like too many yesterdays for long-suffering King fans.

But hey, Edmonton wasn’t built in a day, it’s still exhibition season, and if the Kings insist on playing shoot-outs, it’s still better to have Wayne Gretzky wearing your sweater than the other guy’s.

With Gretzky making his debut wearing Forum black on Forum ice--the club is saving its home whites for next Thursday’s regular-season opener--the Kings scored 5 goals in the third period to overcome the Winnipeg Jets and their own usual assortment of shaky goaltending and defense, 8-6.

Left wing Bobby Carpenter, who had the whole left side to choose from but hit the post after being sent in by Gretzky on a 2-on-1 break with just under 4 minutes left, then knocked in a rebound with 52 seconds left to snap a 6-6 tie.

Ron Duguay then scored an empty-net goal with 4 seconds left to cinch the Kings’ first exhibition win after 3 losses and 2 ties.

“I figured the goalie would slide across (the crease), so I wanted to put it inside the post and I just misjudged it,” Carpenter said of his near-miss.

Any chance he’d miss the game-winner?

“No, I went right for the middle of the net that time.”

Luc Robitaille had 2 goals and 3 assists for the Kings, while Bob Kudelski--who came into camp a longshot to make the roster--scored the Kings’ first 2 goals.

Gretzky set up Dave Taylor’s power-play goal at 3:55 of the third period with one of his signature passes, a little flip from behind the net. That tied the score, 5-5, and also was the first time the power-play had clicked after seven missed opportunities.

That tie lasted only as long as the next Winnipeg 3-on-1 break, which came at 8:03, Dale Hawerchuk converting Doug Smail’s setup against a helpless Glenn Healy.

Healy, who entered the game at the start of the third period and made 10 saves, had spelled goalie Doug Keans, whose Forum homecoming may be short-lived after his performance Wednesday.

Keans, who played for the Kings in the early ‘80s before going to Boston, had come back as a free agent at the invitation of General Manager Rogie Vachon the day before camp opened. Rave reviews greeted his play early, but after surrendering 5 goals in 2 periods Wednesday--in his defense, 3 came on power-plays--Keans’ status became shaky at best.

The Kings have until 5 p.m. today to turn in their roster of protected players for Monday’s waiver draft, so Vachon must decide by then whether he will offer Keans a contract.

Robitaille, who had a hand in both of Kudelski’s goals and also set up Tim Watters’ goal that made it 5-4 after 2 minutes of the third period, was parked in front of the net to deflect Steve Duchesne’s wrist shot from the point at 12:04, tying the score at 6-6.

Then, Carpenter took advantage of his second chance, and Gretzky had his first win since crossing the border. How much did it mean?

“From a team point of view, I don’t know if it was that important,” he said. “But from the point of view of what people are going to write and from what the fans are going to say, to relax the players, it was important.”

They weren’t exactly knocking down the Forum doors to see Gretzky Wednesday. The attendance was announced at 9,128, and there are 2,700 seats left for the opener next week against Calgary.