Kings' Ecstasy Turns to Caution : Hockey: Flush with a 5-3 come-from-behind victory, L.A. plays at Calgary in playoff Game 2 tonight. Veterans warn of 1987 playoff victory that was followed by a debacle of a loss to Edmonton.

By STEVE SPRINGER

April 6, 1990 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

BANFF, Canada —

The highway between Banff and Calgary was treacherous Wednesday night.

The bus moved cautiously through the Canadian Rockies, its tires seeking traction on a road slick with a sheet of ice.

But inside there was only laughter. An Eddie Murphy video played on a big screen. A stunning victory was being replayed in the heads of the passengers.

The Kings had come down to Calgary from their mountain retreat earlier in the day, assured by all that they were heading for defeat.

Facing the defending Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames in the opener of a best-of-seven playoff series without Wayne Gretzky? Forget it.

Now the Kings were heading back to their training site in Banff having the last laugh after coming from behind with four third-period goals to win the opener, 5-3.

“It sure felt good on the ride home,” said Luc Robitaille, who scored two goals.

By Thursday, however, the mood had mellowed.

Banff is a holiday town. Skiers move easily across picture-postcard mountains. Vacationers snap shots of elk running through the forests. Tourists jam the colorful shops and restaurants along Banff Avenue.

But in the Banff Recreation Center, where the Kings train, it was all business.

“We’re back on Earth,” defenseman Steve Duchesne said. “We’re back in the real world. We know we have to win four times.”

There was conjecture before this series began that if the Kings lost the first two games and looked hopelessly out of the series, the club might choose not to use Gretzky at all, allowing him to heal his back injury in the off-season.

But with the Kings’ chances and Gretzky’s back much improved, it is likely he’ll play Sunday when the series switches to the Forum for Game 3.

“My back is 100% better,” Gretzky said by phone from his Encino home.

He is hoping to skate today for the first time since he injured the back against the New York Islanders on March. 22. If that workout goes well, he’ll practice with the team Saturday.

Anything would be better than viewing the playoffs on television, as Gretzky did Wednesday night.

“It’s a lot easier to play,” he said. “I don’t like to watch.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been as excited. The guys should be proud, yet this thing is a long way from being over. I’m happy for (owner) Bruce (McNall), (General Manager) Rogie (Vachon) and (Coach) Tom (Webster). They took a lot of heat during the year, along with the heat over the Bernie (Nicholls) trade.”

When a reporter asked Webster about Gretzky Thursday, he responded loudly: “Let it go! Why are you always asking about Gretzky? Leave it alone!”

His mood was not one of anger, but playfulness. Why not? He had endured a season of injury and criticism to coach his first playoff victory after finishing fourth in the Smythe Division.

“We’ll deal with (Gretzky’s return) when it happens,” Webster said. “I hope it happens. But we can’t deal with it now. We have to stay with what’s going well for us.”

With Gretzky missing, the Kings have asked for leadership from veteran defenseman Larry Robinson, who is appearing in his 18th Stanley Cup playoff. Robinson responds by stressing a low-key approach.

“You’re all right as long as you don’t get too much of an emotional high or low,” he said. “You have to keep it in perspective. In the playoffs, there’s more hype each game, each shift. You can’t get too caught up in it.”

Robinson was the voice the Kings heard when things got tense Wednesday.

“When we were down, 3-1,” Robitaille said, “we were scared a little. And even when we got up, 4-3, it was Larry who said, ‘Let’s cool down. Let us play our game and we know we are going to win.’ ”

Robitaille has a message of his own for his teammates, which he plans to deliver tonight before Game 2 in Calgary’s Olympic Saddledome (at 6:30, PDT, on Prime Ticket, KGIL-1260 and KORG-1190).

“I’m going to tell the guys what happened my first year,” he said.

That was the 1986-87 season, when the Kings opened the playoffs in Edmonton, beating the Oilers, 5-2.

“We came out the next game,” Robitaille said, “and they were all over us all night.” Final score: Edmonton 13, Kings 3. The Oilers didn’t lose again, winning the series in five games.

In Calgary, the mood had also shifted. Before Game 1, there was an obsession with Gretzky. Would he come? Was he already there?

Flame Coach Terry Crisp talked as if the Great One was involved in the Great Scam, that he was hiding somewhere on the slopes of Banff, waiting to drop in at the last minute.

Papers chronicled the Gretzky Watch. One television station reported he had been spotted in Calgary.

Gretzky sightings became an overnight rage in Canada.

By Thursday, however, the Flames were more concerned with spotting their own deficiencies.

As practice ended in Banff, Robinson had a parting observation for a reporter. “It is not so much the joy of winning,” he said, “but the fear of losing that makes you stronger. That’s what keeps me going.”

Robinson headed out into the sunshine of Banff. The ice had melted, and the roads would be clear for today’s trip down to Calgary.

But as Robinson would be the first to add, that didn’t mean there might not still be danger ahead for the Kings.

SERIES AT A GLANCE

CALGARY FLAMES vs. KINGS

Smythe Division Semifinals

RESULTS

GAME 1: Kings 5, Calgary 3

SCHEDULE

Date (Site): Time

GAME 2 Tonight (Calgary): 6:30 p.m

GAME 3 Sunday (Forum): 7:30 p.m

GAME 4 Tuesday (Forum): 7:30 p.m