Nicholls, Gretzky Pair Up to Sweep Aside Red Wings

Just when it appears that some King other than Wayne Gretzky or Bernie Nicholls will grab that blazing hockey spotlight, one of these two guys has a night like Wednesday night.

For Nicholls, it was a near repeat of a night like Tuesday night, where he scored a hat trick in Philadelphia. For Gretzky, it was a night like hundreds of nights that seem to melt together in his remarkable career.

The Kings beat the Detroit Red Wings, 8-3, in a sellout at Joe Louis Arena, and with that kind of scoring it would be natural to think several Kings shared in the action. Nope. Nicholls and Gretzky had a hand in 7 of the 8 goals.

Gretzky had 1 goal, which gave him 600 in his career, and 5 assists; Nicholls had 2 goals and 2 assists.

Their play nearly overshadowed the return of rookie goaltender Mark Fitzpatrick, but not quite. Fitzpatrick, who turned 20 last week, was as solid in goal as the Kings have had in a while.

The Kings (15-7) have won 8 of their last 9 games, a state of affairs that has the team thrilled . . . and opponents puzzled. Coach Robbie Ftorek had to face persistent questioning after the game that ran along these lines:

“Can you believe the Kings are this good?”

“Are you truly astonished the Kings are playing this well?”

“Are you surprised at this performance?”

Those are the actual questions.

For the answers, look beyond Nicholls and Gretzky to team depth, team speed, a shored-up defense and, at last, confidence.

Asked if it were fun to coach the team under these happy circumstances, Ftorek nodded.

“The last two nights I was very calm behind the bench,” he said. “The guys were in sync both nights. All I had to say is ‘You’re up, you’re up.’ ”

The team is a ways from coasting on automatic pilot, but certainly elements of the game are coming together.

Fitzpatrick is one. This was Fitzpatrick’s second National Hockey League start and his second victory. He had 28 saves and was unflappable in the most dicey situations.

Fitzpatrick is an oddity--a tall (6-foot 2-inch) goaltender. He uses that to his advantage. With his standup style, he nearly fills the goalmouth. If a shooter misses hitting him, he usually misses the net completely. And Fitzpatrick’s temperament seems well-suited to his position. Like Edmonton’s Grant Fuhr, there are few emotional ups and downs. It’s all steady.

As for Nicholls and Gretzky, they carried the Kings to a 5-0 lead early in the second period. Such was the Kings’ dominance--and Detroit goaltender Greg Stefan’s frustration--that the sellout crowd of 19,875 began a campaign of sarcastic applause, cheering wildly at even the most routine stop made by Stefan.

The Red Wings (11-6-4) were due for a bad game, after having won 7 in a row, their longest winning streak in 23 years. They got it Wednesday night.

The game’s first goal came from another unlikely star, Gord Walker, who was called up from the New Haven, Conn., farm club Wednesday and scored in his first game as a King, on his first shift.

It was so simple. He merely had to keep his stick on the ice as Gretzky fed him in the slot.

“It was nice--Wayne Gretzky puts it right on my stick,” Walker said, laughing and sitting next to the commemorative puck.

That Walker was even in the game was a marvel, given the sort of day he had. After getting called up earlier in the day, Walker got on a plane for Detroit--on traditionally the worst travel day of the year. His plane circled over the airport here for several minutes because of congestion.

The plane finally landed and Walker stepped out to the curb to gape at a sea of holiday traffic. It was 5:10 p.m. and he needed to be at the Arena for a 6:30 pregame skate. On a good day, the drive is 45 minutes.

“I jumped into a cab and told the guy where I wanted to go and that I was in a hurry,” Walker said.

Little did he know what that means to a Detroit taxi driver. Walker said the cabbie drove on the shoulder of the highway leading into Detroit. Once in the city, the cabbie drove on sidewalks. It cost Walker $40.

Welcome to the NHL.

Gretzky got the Kings’ second goal, which gave him 17 for the season. He is the league’s fifth all-time goal scorer.

A short-handed goal by Steve Duchesne gave the Kings a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period, and goals by Luc Robitaille and Doug Crossman made it 5-0 before Red Wing captain Steve Yzerman scored with 35 seconds left in the second period.

Nicholls opened the scoring in the third period, but Yzerman and Adam Oates scored quick goals to cut the King lead to 6-3.

Ron Duguay’s goal at 13:36 sealed it and Nicholls scored again at 17:26.

Gretzky, who was subdued after the game, tied King records for points in a game with 6 and assists in a game with 5.

Robitaille was struck in the right ear with the puck in the second period and left the game never to return. He still had one goal and one assist.

Depending on to whom you spoke, the cut required either 20 (according to the trainer) or 40 (according to the doctor) stitches to close.

King Notes

King defenseman Ken Baumgartner was sent home Wednesday, after complaining of dizziness. Baumgartner ate breakfast with the team in Philadelphia and made the flight to Detroit, but he returned to Los Angeles for tests. . . . After killing 8 of 9 penalties Tuesday night in Philadelphia, the Kings moved up to second in the league in that category. They killed 3 of 4 power plays Wednesday night. . . . In other statistical notes, three Kings are in the top seven in scoring for the league: Bernie Nicholls, second with 54; Wayne Gretzky, third with 50, and Luc Robitaille, seventh with 34. . . . Nicholls has a league high 10-game goal-scoring streak, with 16 goals in that span.

Bob Probert, the troubled right wing for Detroit, may soon skate for the team again. Probert, who has been battling alcoholism, this week received his work permit from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Probert is Canadian. He passed a team physical Wednesday morning and will skate with the team today. He had been suspended for disciplinary reasons. . . . The Kings play Calgary Saturday and will stay here today. The team will have a private meal to celebrate Thanksgiving, although only two players are American.