Kings, Ignited by Tonelli, Nearly Get Burned, 4-3

As he skated through a brief practice at the Nassau Coliseum Saturday morning, John Tonelli considered the four Stanley Cup banners overhead that he had helped to win.

He considered the New York Islanders’ current slump, and he considered what effect the return of Al Arbour behind their bench was likely to have on the team and the crowd.

And he concluded that the Kings might have their hands full, come game time.

He was right.

Even after Tonelli’s line gave the Kings a big start Saturday night, it was all they could do to hold off the Islanders in the third period for a 4-3 victory.

But they did it, as the Islanders lost their 10th straight game and fell to 7-20-2. For the Kings (19-10-1), opening a 5-game trip, it was the second victory of the season over the Islanders.

It was almost like old times for Tonelli, scoring goals on this familiar ice. But in those days, he and Arbour were on the same side.

Then Tonelli was traded to Calgary in 1986 in a deal that left him feeling hurt, betrayed and disappointed.

And Arbour stepped down after the 1985-86 season, turning the job over to Terry Simpson.

Funny how these things turn out.

The Kings signed Tonelli as a free agent last summer in a move that he welcomed, as the Kings made him feel wanted.

And Arbour agreed to come back as interim coach of the Islanders while they seek a replacement for Simpson, who was fired last Wednesday. Arbour coached the Islanders’ loss at New Jersey Friday night. Saturday night’s game marked his return to home ice.

“I was worried that (Arbour) might pull some of his magic off and get the guys going tonight,” Tonelli said. “With him behind the bench here, I thought the team might be a little more motivated to break out of the slump.”

So Tonelli countered with a motivated performance of his own.

Tonelli was credited with 2 goals in the first period as the Kings jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

Just 50 seconds into the game, Tonelli dug the puck out of the left corner and sent a centering pass to Marty McSorley, who was right in front of Islander goalie Kelly Hrudey. Tonelli says McSorley scored the goal, but the officials said the puck bounced off Islander defenseman Reed Larson, giving Tonelli an unassisted goal. Asked if he had scored the goal, McSorley said: “It doesn’t matter.”

King captain Dave Taylor made it 2-0 at 4:22 when he scored on the rebound of a shot by Steve Duchesne.

Then Tonelli slid toward the net and pushed the puck into the corner at 16:31 to give the Kings a 3-0 lead.

Coach Robbie Ftorek said: “Johnny’s line got us off to a really good start. We had a good start in the second period, too. We didn’t have as good a start in the third period.”

Neither team scored in the second period, and it looked as if rookie goalie Mark Fitzpatrick might get his first NHL shutout.

But at 1:28 of the third period, Islander defenseman Gary Nylund skated in on him and scored on a shot that apparently glanced off Fitzpatrick’s skate.

Luc Robitaille added a goal for the Kings at 5:03 to make it 4-1, scoring off a beautiful pass that Wayne Gretzky threaded from the right circle between Larson and Nylund on a power play.

Mikko Makela gave the Islanders their second goal at 11:45. Pat LaFontaine skated with the puck over the blue line on the right side and passed to Makela, who was skating down the center of the ice.

Fitzpatrick threw himself to the ice to stop the shot, but even lying on his side, the 6-foot 2-inch goalie left a couple of inches open between his skates and the post, and that’s where Makela shot the puck.

Then Tomas Jonsson slapped a 45-foot shot from the right point that passed Fitzpatrick on the glove side at 15:54, bringing the Islanders within a goal at 4-3.

Ftorek said that he wasn’t surprised at the strong comeback by a team that, based on its record, seems so down and out.

“When we go into a game, we don’t look at weaknesses, we look at strengths,” Ftorek said. He added that Cap Raeder, another member of the Kings’ coaching staff, had reported plenty of strengths after he scouted the Islanders’ game against the Devils Friday night.

“And then, coming home with Al Arbour behind the bench, I thought they would play well,” Ftorek said.

“I don’t often say I’d like to get that fourth goal when we’re up by 3, but tonight, I had the feeling we should get that fourth one.

“They have a lot of young guys out there who are working real hard. I don’t think they really know how big and how strong they are. When they realize that, they’ll be fine.”

Tonelli was asked how he felt about the Islanders’ fall from glory.

“For me, personally, it’s not a good feeling to see the organization suffering like this,” Tonelli said. “There was a time (after the trade to Calgary) when I was disappointed. . . . But you know the old saying about time healing a lot of things.

“I’ll always have a place in my heart for the Islanders.”

King Notes

Defenseman Ken Baumgartner was brought back up to join the Kings here, and forward Brian Wilks was sent back to New Haven while the Kings were in the neighborhood. . . . The Kings are practicing today at the Lasker Rink in New York’s Central Park for their game Monday night against the New York Rangers. The practice is open to the public and is being held to benefit the “Ice Hockey in Harlem” program. . . . The Islanders took the Kings to overtime in the third game of the season, which the Kings won, 6-5. . . . John Tonelli, who had 2 goals against the Islanders Saturday night, also had 2 goals against Winnipeg Thursday night, prompting Bryan Maxwell of the Kings’ coaching staff to comment: “Johnny Tonelli gives you 100% every night. He plays with grit.” . . . Goalie Mark Fitzpatrick raised his record to 4-1-1.