Oilers Take Another Fall, 7-4

Wayne Gretzky could only shake his head in amazement after the Kings had beaten the Edmonton Oilers, 7-4, Saturday night at the Forum.

Since the summer day in 1988 when he came to the Kings in the blockbuster trade with Edmonton, Gretzky had dreamed of the day his new team would be better than his old.

But nineteen points better?

At the beginning of November ?

“Let’s face it, nobody is more surprised than we are,” said Gretzky after the Kings’ third consecutive victory, before a sellout crowd of 16,005, moved them back into the Smythe Division lead with a 12-4-1 record and 25 points, one more than the Calgary Flames.

At the other end of the Smythe spectrum sits the Oilers, 2-11-2 and losers of nine in a row.

“This has got to be the best team to ever lose nine games,” Gretzky said. “It’s a long year, believe me. I wouldn’t count them out by any means.”

Saturday’s game was punctuated by a match penalty assessed against Luc Robitaille for cross-checking Craig Simpson from behind in the second period. Referee Kerry Fraser ruled that Robitaille deliberately attempted to injure Simpson. That meant immediate expulsion from the game and a possible suspension after a league hearing.

“I didn’t have the puck when he hit me,” Robitaille said, “so I hit him back. I cross-checked him on the shoulder. I’ve been cross-checked like that 10 times in a game.”

Although Tony Granato was the Kings’ offensive leader with two goals and four points, the Oilers had the early lead. Unchecked, Joe Murphy skated into the crease and backhanded the puck over the glove of goalie Kelly Hrudey five minutes into the game. It was Murphy’s fourth goal.

It was the third time this season the Oilers have scored first on the road. They have lost all three games.

The Kings tied the score, 1-1, before the period ended. When Dave Brown gave up the puck in his own zone, Dave Taylor controlled it and passed to Todd Elik, who fed Robitaille. From the left side, Robitaille lifted the puck over goalie Bill Ranford’s glove at 16:01 for his ninth goal and fourth in his last six games.

In the second period, the Kings appeared to have blown the Oilers away with an offensive burst that resulted in goals on three consecutive shots.

Edmonton entered the game with only 35 goals, lowest total in the league.

The Kings built their 4-1 lead as follows:

--Gretzky, flashing the form the Oilers saw up close and personal for nine years, stick-handled his way around both Esa Tikkanen and Simpson, leaving both grasping at air in the King zone. Gretzky then took the puck up the ice and whipped it to Steve Duchesne on the left side. Duchesne passed to Granato, whose backhander was blocked by Ranford. Gretzky, however, put in the rebound to extend his point-scoring streak to 15 games with his team-leading 12th goal.

Kings 2, Oilers 1 at 1:37.

--Duchesne backhanded the puck into the net with a nice spin move off Elik.

Kings 3, Oilers 1 at 2:23.

--Gretzky intercepted Steve Smith’s pass in the Oiler zone and fed Granato, who scored his ninth goal.

Kings 4, Oilers 1 at 3:44.

Mark Lamb’s third goal at 4:09 slowed the Kings’ momentum.

And then Robitaille put the Oilers back in the game while removing himself from it with his cross-checking penalty.

King Notes

Center Mike Krushelnyski, traded by the Kings Friday to the Toronto Maple Leafs for John McIntyre, said the move “kind of surprised me. But it’s part of the game. It’s pretty nice someone there wants me. L.A. obviously didn’t. I came into camp in good shape. But as soon as the season began, there was no ice time for me. The Kings are going with their game. And I’m going with mine. They (the Maple Leafs) seem pretty excited about the trade. And so am I.” . . . Krushelnyski has been given permission to remain in Los Angeles until his wife, Areta, gives birth to the couple’s second child. She is due any time. . . . Krushelnyski had been centering the Kings’ third line with John Tonelli on the left and a cast of characters on the right. Scott Bjugstad centered that line Saturday. . . . McIntyre, a spectator at Saturday’s game, will wear number 44. . . . Asked to describe his style, McIntyre said: “A defensive center man who works on finishing his checks. I don’t try to tick players off or take bad penalties. But, if you take the body, you may throw the player’s game off. I’m a guy players on other teams don’t really like much.” . . . Goalie Kelly Hrudey got the start when Daniel Berthiaume got hit in the leg with a puck in practice Friday and experienced some swelling. . . . Before the game, King owner Bruce McNall presented Wayne Gretzky with 18-year scholarships for both of Gretzky’s children. In honor of their father’s 2,000th career point, Paulina and Ty Gretzky will receive $2,000 each per year until their 18th birthdays. . . . Edmonton center Mark Messier, out since Oct. 16 with a strained ligament in the left knee, has begun skating and could return in a week.