Skating on Thin Ice, Kings Avoid Elimination : Gretzky, L.A. Stay in Playoffs as Oilers Fall, 4-2

It was just the kind of magic moment King fans had been expecting since Wayne Gretzky was traded to Los Angeles from the Edmonton Oilers last summer.

In a one-on-one breakaway, Gretzky flew at Grant Fuhr, put the puck off the goalie’s pads and into the net to ice a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers that kept the Kings in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

In marveling about the goal, Gretzky’s old coach, Glen Sather, said: “He’d been out there for over four minutes and he had to be dog tired. But all of a sudden the puck comes to him and he’s off like he’s got a shot of rocket fuel in his skates. No other hockey player in the world can do that. That’s why he’s such a great player.”

But there haven’t been enough of those moments in the playoff series against the Oilers. Not enough to meet the Great expectations. The Kings went into Game 5 at the Forum before a sellout crowd of 16,005 down three games to one and needing three consecutive victories.

Game 6 of this Smythe Division semifinal series is scheduled for Thursday night at Edmonton, and Game 7--if necessary--will be at the Forum Saturday night.

“We knew when we lost Game 1 here that we would have to win a game up there,” Gretzky said. “It didn’t matter whether it was Game 3 or Game 4 or Game 6. Now it has to be Game 6.”

Sather said that he wasn’t particularly comfortable knowing that the next game would be in Edmonton.

“I don’t think I can feel comfortable about any game Gretzky’s involved in, or any of the other Kings,” he said. “They won’t come into Edmonton and lay down and say, ‘Here it is.’

“We didn’t expect to win this series easily. We expect to win it.”

King goalie Kelly Hrudey certainly isn’t making it easy for the Oilers.

Hrudey was so impressive in making a series of last-second saves in the second period that the crowd cheered him off the ice at the end of the period and then chanted “Hru-dey, Hru-dey” after his most impressive saves in the third period. Hrudey faced 34 shots.

The Kings took 43 shots and might have had three times as many goals had they not been facing the brilliant Fuhr.

Gretzky, who has had several breakaway opportunities during this series, said it was a “big relief” to get the Kings’ fourth goal with 1 minute 17 seconds left. But he said that the relief he was referring to was simply the one that comes with playing the final minute with a two-goal lead instead of a one-goal lead.

It was a relief to get what King Coach Robbie Ftorek called: “The most important game of the year.”

Obviously. If they hadn’t won it, it would have been the last game of the season.

Once again it was Chris Kontos who got the Kings started, scoring his sixth goal of the playoff series on a power goal at 6:24 of the first period, waiting out in front of the Oiler goal for the centering pass that came from Gretzky behind the net.

In the second period, Bernie Nicholls put the Kings ahead, 2-1, at 5:32, also on a power play, getting the puck behind the fallen Fuhr. The puck skimmed along the goal line as Oiler defenseman Kevin Lowe tried to get a stick on it. But it crossed over the line, if only for a moment.

Gretzky said: “I was behind the net, and I saw that it did go in. We were fortunate that (referee) Kerry Fraser was in position to see it.”

Oiler winger Glenn Anderson answered with a power play goal at 7:38 while John Tonelli was in the penalty box for high sticking. Hrudey had set to stop the rush by Mark Messier, who was coming up the right side. But after a quick pass was made to Jari Kurri, the puck went to Anderson, who was coming up the left side. It was Anderson’s first goal since March 1, which was 18 games ago.

The Kings scored on a similar breakaway at 9:44, with Dave Taylor skating up the right side with Mark Hunter in pursuit. He then passed across the ice to Luc Robitaille, who had beaten Craig MacTavish back on the left side. Robitaille then scored his first goal of the playoffs.

The Kings had a lot more chances in the second period, including two good shots on goal by Nicholls while the Kings were skating with a two-man advantage. But Fuhr was in playoff form.

In the third period, Norm Lacombe put the Oilers within a goal when he threaded a shot through traffic and past Hrudey, who had gone to his knees to make a save.

“It’s amazing what one win does,” Gretzky said. “The momentum has changed a little a bit.”