Gretzky Comes Up With a King-Sized Victory : Center Helps L.A. Stay in Playoffs as Oilers Fall, 4-2

Wayne Gretzky came at Oiler goalie Grant Fuhr on a breakaway, and put the puck past him to ice the victory as a sellout crowd at the Forum went wild.

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

But the playoff series against the Oilers had not been going as expected until Tuesday night’s game. The Kings went into Game 5 needing three consecutive victories to advance in the playoffs.

The Kings kept their hopes alive with a 4-2 victory over the Oilers Tuesday night at the Forum, getting the fourth goal from Gretzky with 1 minute 17 seconds left to play.

They need to win two in a row, at Edmonton Thursday night and at the Forum Saturday night to advance to the Smythe Division final series.

The Kings trail the Oilers, 3-2, in the best-of-seven series.

Gretzky also had two assists against his former teammates.

The sellout crowd of 16,005 gave credit to Kings goalie Kelly Hrudey, cheering him off the ice after the second period and then chanting “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.

But no one was going to shut them out on their own ice while they were fighting for another chance in the playoff scramble.

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

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

Oiler winger Glenn Anderson answered with a power play goal at 7:38 as John Tonelli was in the penalty box for high sticking. Hrudey had himself set to stop the rush by Mark Messier, who was coming up the right side. But a quick pass to Jari Kurri then went to Anderson, who was coming up the left side. Anderson scored past Hrudey.

The Kings scored on a similar breakaway at 9:44, with Dave Taylor skating hard 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 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.

King Notes

John Tonelli was on the line that started Game 5 Tuesday night at the Forum, making an inspirational appearance in his first playoff game. He missed the first four with complications of the flu. He wasn’t 100% and played sparingly, with three short shifts in the first period and two short shifts in the second period. Tonelli had one shift in the third period.

With his goal in the first period Tuesday night, Chris Kontos tied the Kings’ club record for most goals in a playoff series--six by Marcel Dionne in 1976 against Boston. Kontos currently leads the National Hockey League in goals. . . . Ronald Reagan was invited by the Kings to give a pregame locker room speech. He couldn’t make it, but he had a letter hand-delivered to be read in the dressing room exhorting the Kings to “Win one for the Gipper.” . . . Only five teams have ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a seven-game NHL series.