Kings Can’t Get Up for Nordiques, 4-4

The red-hot Kings against the lowly Quebec Nordiques. This figured to be a game the Kings could win in their sleep.

Unfortunately for the Kings, that is just what they attempted to do.

Skating through a lackluster performance, drained by too many games on a tough trip and too little inspiration against a seemingly weak opponent, the Kings settled for a 4-4 tie Sunday night before a crowd of 14,239 at the Colisee de Quebec.

For the victory-starved fans of this city, a tie against the Smythe Division leaders was something to cheer about.

For the Kings, a game in which they twice blew two-goal leads wasn’t much cause for celebration, despite the fact they picked up a point to widen their lead over the Calgary Flames to a season-high four points.

“We might as well call it like it is,” center Steve Kasper said in the Kings’ locker room. “We took them lightly and then we ran out of gas. Everyone sitting in this room knew we were fortunate to be ahead after the first and second periods.

“They are desperate. Nobody likes losing as many as they have.”

The Nordiques were dismal last season when they won only a dozen games, and they have started off this season on the same miserable pace.

By almost any numerical yardstick, this has been a bad team.

The Nordiques are 3-18-5. They lost 14 in a row, tied the Hartford Whalers and then lost again to make them 0-15-1 in their last 16 heading into Sunday.

Home or away, it hasn’t made much difference. The Nordiques are 1-9-3 at the Colisee de Quebec.

So how did the Kings, winners of seven of their last eight and owners of a 16-5-1 overall record coming in here, wind up fit to be tied?

“They’re a young team,” King left wing Tony Granato said of the Nordiques. “If you give them a chance, they’ll be in there. If anything, we just didn’t bear down. Obviously they have some talent or they wouldn’t be in the league.

“This was our third game in four nights, but to use that as an excuse is a bunch of bull. When you’ve got a 4-2 lead, you just have to suck it up and do what you have to do.”

The travel excuse won’t hold up against the Nordiques, anyway. They were playing their third game in five nights and, like the Kings, their second game in as many nights.

The Kings beat Montreal Saturday night, 4-2. Quebec was beaten by the Winnipeg Jets, 11-4.

Failing to win the second of back-to-back games on the road is nothing new for the Kings, regardless of the opponent. In their past 12 such instances over two years, they are 0-8-4.

Still, it looked as if the Kings might reverse the trend when they moved into a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Steve Duchesne (his seventh) and Jay Miller (third).

But Quebec came right back with goals by Joe Sakic (12th) and Tony McKegney (eighth).

McKegney’s goal particularly hurt the Kings, because they had just escaped from a five-on-three advantage following penalties to Rod Buskas and Granato.

With Buskas out of the penalty box and just eight seconds remaining on Granato’s penalty, McKegney scored from the top of the right circle on a shot that bounced off goalie Kelly Hrudey.

It came 7:47 into the second period and, suddenly, the Nordiques smelled blood.

The Kings moved back out in front with two more second-period goals, Kasper’s third, a short-handed goal, and Wayne Gretzky’s 15th.

But instead of folding, the youthful Nordiques looked to their tower of experience, 17-year veteran Guy Lafleur.

At 39, Lafleur still has a few goals left in his weathered stick. He came up with his fourth of the season and 552nd of his career just 44 seconds into the final period, squeezing the puck just past Hrudey on the short side to cut the margin to 4-3.

At the other end of the spectrum is center Jamie Baker, 24 and appearing in just his fourth NHL game.

He picked an opportune moment to score his first goal, redirecting a shot from Stephane Morin over Hrudey’s stick from 20 feet out at the 16:12 mark of the final regulation period to tie the game.

“I didn’t even know it went in,” Baker said. “I heard the crowd noise, so I knew we tied the game up.

“I didn’t really have time to think about it. I’m just really happy it’s a goal that helps the team.”

Quebec had its chances to do more than tie. The Nordiques lost a first-period goal when the whistle blew before the puck crossed the goal line. And they failed to capitalize on five of six power plays.

“I was worried about this game coming in,” King Coach Tom Webster said. “Hell, I’m happy with a tie.”

King Notes

Defenseman Marty McSorley left the game in the third period with a pulled shoulder muscle and did not return. He is expected to be available on Tuesday night for the game in Detroit, the next-to-last stop on this nine-day, five-game trip.