After Trailing by 4-1, Kings Happy With Tie

For an instant, potential victory hung in the air.

There was Wayne Gretzky near the crease, two seconds to play showing on the scoreboard clock above him, an open net in front of him and the puck above his stick.

But swatting a flying puck into a net is a lot to ask, even of Gretzky.

It proved to be too much this time as Gretzky only got a piece of the puck, sending it squirting off to teammate Tony Granato as time ran out Sunday night, leaving the Kings and Montreal Canadiens tied, 4-4, before 17,748 at the Montreal Forum.

No complaints from the Kings. Not on a night when they fell behind, 4-1, early in the second period.

Not on a night when Calgary finally lost, allowing the Kings (40-21-9) to finish their trip 1-1-2 and extend their Smythe Division lead over the Flames to two points with 10 games to play.

Not on a night when Gretzky had three assists to extend his assist streak to 16 games, one short of the NHL record he shares with Paul Coffey.

Not on a night when Tomas Sandstrom scored two goals to take over the team lead with 39.

Not on a night when Luc Robitaille got his 38th goal, but only his first in five games.

Montreal (36-26-9) led, 3-1, after one period on goals by Eric Desjardins (seventh), Brent Gilchrist (fifth) and Shayne Corson (19th).

Awful was the word most Kings used to describe the first 20 minutes.

In the clubhouse, Tom Webster used language a little stronger.

“I didn’t break any furniture,” he said. “I just got to the point.”

And his point was that the Kings had to be more physical.

“We played just terrible in the first period,” defenseman Larry Robinson said. “We were not being physical. We were getting caught flat-footed.”

Webster’s exhortation to his players seemed wasted on the Kings’ collective ears went Mike McPhee scored his 20th goal 1:19 into the second period. The Kings had been outshot at that point, 15-9.

Then the Kings’ offense woke up. Its defense tightened up. And the Canadiens weren’t heard from again. Montreal was outshot, 19-13, the rest of the way, 8-4 in the final period and 3-1 in the overtime.

And had it not been for Montreal goalie Patrick Roy, the Canadiens would have been beaten.

Both he and the Kings’ Daniel Berthiaume made several clutch saves, each blocking 24 shots.

None was bigger by Berthiaume than the one he made with 12 seconds to play in the second period. A shot by Guy Carbonneau landed on the stick of Mike Keane in the slot. Keane tried to flip the puck over Berthiaume, but he stretched to catch the puck at the last instant.

“That was my biggest save,” Berthiaume said.

Dave Taylor’s 20th goal at 11:32 of the final period tied the score.

Sandstrom appeared to score his third goal in the third period, but referee Don Koharski ruled the puck had bounced off the left post, a decision verified by a replay.

Gretzky had a chance to win it in the third period when Sandstrom fed him on a three-on-one rush, but Roy blocked the shot with a pad.

“I thought I had him beat,” Gretzky said, “but he brought his leg over quicker than I shot. Otherwise, I would have gone upstairs.”

Then came the final play. Roy blocked a Tony Granato shot, sending it in Gretzky’s direction.

“It was spinning,” Gretzky said. “I tried to knock it out of the air, but I couldn’t get at it. I got a piece of it.”

Granato was tied up as he attempted a final shot.

Tough ending for the Kings. But not nearly as tough as the beginning.