Oiler Victory Produces Heroes Aplenty : NHL playoffs: Tikkanen checks Gretzky. MacTavish scores series winner. Ranford picks up for injured Fuhr.

Major contributors to the Edmonton Oilers’ 4-3 overtime victory over the Kings Sunday night could be found in several corners of the Oilers’ locker room at the Northlands Coliseum:

--Esa Tikkanen scored two goals, the second at 12 minutes 38 seconds of the third period to pull the Oilers even after they had squandered a 2-0 lead by giving up three consecutive goals.

Described as “a bowling ball with ears” by Coach Tom Webster of the Kings on the eve of the Smythe Division final playoff series, the tight-checking Tikkanen also limited Wayne Gretzky to only a second-period assist and held the Kings’ leader without a goal throughout the six-game series.

“Esa Tikkanen played as well as any player can against Wayne Gretzky,” Oiler Coach John Muckler said. “And he did it while also contributing offensively. His play is what probably won us the series.”

--Craig MacTavish scored the series-clinching goal at 16:57 of overtime, beating defenseman Larry Robinson to the net to take a centering pass from Petr Klima and slipping a shot under goaltender Kelly Hrudey.

Only 11 seconds earlier, an apparent goal by Anatoli Semenov of the Oilers was disallowed by referee Kelly Fraser, who ruled that Martin Gelinas of the Oilers interfered with Hrudey as Semenov shot from the left circle.

Television replays seemed to show that Luc Robitaille of the Kings--and not Gelinas--had run into Hrudey.

“It was a great relief,” MacTavish said of his goal, “because about 10 seconds earlier, we were tremendously disappointed from what we thought was an amazing call. It was the last thing on my mind when I was flopping on the ice hugging (Semenov) that his goal would be called back.”

--Klima, with defenseman Brian McIntyre checking him tightly, set up the winner with a one-handed pass from the left side.

“I knew Mac was in front of the net,” said Klima, who took the puck along the left boards after it popped free from teammate Craig Simpson and King defenseman Steve Duchesne, skated into the left corner and shoveled it out front. “I knew he was going to stop, so I just put it there, right on his stick.”

--Backup goaltender Bill Ranford relieved starter Grant Fuhr after Fuhr injured his right elbow at 4:27 of the third period, kept the Kings scoreless the rest of the way while facing 12 shots and picked up his first playoff victory since last May, when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs after the Oilers won the Stanley Cup.

“It was probably one of the toughest things I’ve had to do,” Ranford said. “We couldn’t afford to go back to L.A. (for a seventh game). That would have been too much of an emotional downer for us. I just went out there and tried to stop the puck as best I could.”

Fuhr was injured when his right arm was pinned against the right post by teammate Steve Smith, who lost his balance, fell to the ice and crashed into Fuhr while giving to Mike Donnelly of the Kings, whose goal on the play gave the Kings a 3-2 lead with 15:33 left in the third period.

As Fuhr skated off, holding his right arm, the Kings had outshot Edmonton, 18-0, since midway through the second period, but the Kings were limited to only four shots the rest of the period.

“They gave me time to settle down,” Ranford said of his teammates. “It was a no-lose situation for me. Either I come up big and play well, or it just doesn’t happen. . . .

“This is probably the biggest win of my career by far. When something like this happens, where you get thrown in there in the heat of things and the team pulls out a victory for you, that’s pretty special.”

As far as the Oilers were concerned, Ranford was special.

“To look at him between the third period and the overtime, you’d think he’d been playing the whole playoffs,” MacTavish said of his teammate, who had played only once in 12 postseason games. “What a tremendous lift to have a goalie of that caliber come in after Grant went down.”