Kings, Who Can’t Get a Win, Tie Devils : Robitaille’s Overtime Penalty Shot Stopped; Streak Extended to 8

Luc Robitaille had skated in on New Jersey Nets goalie Sean Burke on a breakaway just minutes earlier to score the tiebreaking goal. So when the Kings were awarded a rare penalty shot with 1:18 left in overtime at the Forum Thursday night, Robitaille got the call again.

But Burke won the rematch.

The Kings were left with a 6-6 tie and a winless streak of eight games. They are 0-6-2 in that span.

The penalty shot--the Kings’ first in overtime--was awarded by referee Don Koharski when he ruled that New Jersey defenseman Ken Daneyko had deliberately moved the goal from its moorings. New Jersey center Kirk Muller made a beeline for Koharski to disagree, but it did him no good.

Glenn Healy, the goalie who took over for the Kings early in the second period, saw no reason to argue the call.

“That call was cut-and-dried,” he said. “Every goaltender in the league knows that. It didn’t take any courage to make that call. You move the goal off in the overtime like that, it’s a penalty shot. Plain and simple.”

New Jersey Coach Jim Schoenfeld, who has had his run-ins with Koharski in the past--including the infamous run-in during the playoffs last season--thought maybe the officials missed a hooking penalty moments earlier. But he had no complaint with the call that put Robitaille on the red line with the puck.

“It wasn’t real good judgment to bump it off, but I guess in panic situations, guys react differently. I was pretty happy (Burke) made the save,” he said.

Robitaille didn’t credit Burke with the save. He said he blew it when he came upon a panic situation of his own. Robitaille had to see the videotaped replay even before he hit the showers, and the replay verified his belief.

“I had him beat,” Robitaille said. “I had him out, and I was going to deke and get around to the open net, but the puck rolled on me. When it started to roll, I panicked. I got scared it was going to bounce over my blade, so I shot too soon.”

Robitaille was putting the same move on Burke that he had put on Pokey Reddick to score on his only other penalty shot, last season against the Winnipeg Jets.

Burke said he was expecting the deke.

“He had scored the one goal on a breakaway,” he said. “I thought I had that one, but he made a deke and beat me. I thought he was going to make the deke this time so I would slide across.”

Right. But, instead, Robitaille took the quick shot and the puck bounced off Burke’s right arm. Schoenfeld called it “the save of the year.”

The tie was the fourth straight for the Devils, who are in fifth place in the Patrick Division with a record of 18-25-10.

The Kings (27-21-5) haven’t won a game since Jan. 14. But they made a good bid for a victory with yet another comeback attempt. And another.

The Kings were basking in the glow of their first comeback run after Wayne Gretzky had tied the score, 3-3, and Robitaille had put the Kings ahead, 4-3, with his brilliant goal halfway through the third period. But then the Devils scored and scored and scored again.

Three quick goals, by John MacLean, Kirk Muller and Tom Kurvers in a span of 1:26, put the Devils back in front, 6-4.

So the Kings had to come back again. Mike Allison made it 6-5 with his second goal of the night, and just 1:20 later, Mike Krushelnyski tied it, 6-6.

Not many of the 14,336 fans made early exits during this game.

King Coach Robbie Ftorek sent Bryan Maxwell of his staff out to meet the media after the game.

“The ups and downs were scary,” Maxwell said. “We haven’t quit all year, no matter how far we’ve been down. . . . It’s been tough, emotionally and physically, to have to come from behind all the time. The way things have been going lately, this tie is like a win.

“Right now, we’re not sound defensively, but we have 27 games remaining to work on that. Tonight we found a way to regain composure after giving up those three goals.”

Healy could only say of those goals: “We really had a letdown there.”

He had come into the game in relief of rookie Mark Fitzpatrick when the Kings were down, 3-0, with less 6 minutes played in the second period. Fitzpatrick had given up the three goals on 12 shots.

Meanwhile, the Kings were doing nothing in the scoring department. When Dale DeGray took a shot at 8:13 of the second period, it was the Kings’ first shot since 11:40 of the first period.

The Kings finally got started when John Tonelli scored on a pass from Bernie Nicholls at 10:13. Allison made it 3-2 at 12:52, scoring with a power-play unit that included Krushelnyski, Robitaille, Steve Kasper and Doug Crossman. But not Gretzky.

King Notes

The Kings were without four key players: Igor Liba (shoulder separation), Dave Taylor (inflamed knee), Marty McSorley (sprained knee) and Ron Duguay (head contusion). . . . The Kings’ longest winless streak last season was 9 games. It was during that streak that Coach Mike Murphy was fired and Robbie Ftorek was hired. . . . Ftorek wore a suit behind the bench for the first time in the regular season Thursday night. . . . The fans booed referee Don Koharski as he skated onto the ice. Koharski also was the referee Tuesday night when the Kings lost to Calgary. In that game, the Kings were dealt 49 penalty minutes to 28 for the Flames. . . . Koharski also is the official who was confronted by New Jersey Coach Jim Schoenfeld during the playoffs last season. When Schoenfeld was suspended, and then got a court injunction that allowed him to coach until a hearing could be held, the NHL officials refused to take the ice for the game, and alternate officials were used. . . . The Kings will play the last game of this home stand Saturday night against the Buffalo Sabres before breaking for the All-Star game.