Ranford Loses Horns and Finds Happiness : NHL playoffs: Edmonton goalie turns back 42 shots in Sunday’s victory after goat status in Friday’s loss to Kings.

Esa Tikkanen didn’t act alone.

Bill Ranford also played a pivotal role, perhaps the pivotal role, in the Edmonton Oilers’ 5-2 victory over the Kings Sunday night at the Forum in Game 5 of their Smythe Division semifinal playoff series.

“He won us the hockey game,” assistant coach Ron Low said of the Oiler goaltender, who stopped 42 shots in helping the visitors open a 3-2 lead in the series and put the Kings on the brink of elimination. “That’s what we said he’d have to do in one of these games, and this was it.”

Said Ranford: “I was pretty happy with my performance. I think when I think about this game, I’ll be pretty happy.”

Certainly, he’ll be happier than he was late Friday night.

For more than 50 minutes that night, Ranford stopped the Kings cold, turning aside 23 of 24 shots as the Oilers held a 2-1 lead.

But the Kings scored three goals in less than three minutes, stealing a 4-3 victory in Game 4.

Billy Goat, columnist Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun called Ranford, who hadn’t faced a third-period shot before defenseman Paul Coffey struck for the Kings’ second goal that night, sparking a comeback.

During the last 10 minutes, Jones wrote, “Ranford turned into a turnstile and ended up as the goat.”

Jones wrote that Ranford, winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most outstanding player in the playoffs two years ago and most valuable player in the Canada Cup tournament last fall, had been outplayed through the first four games of the series by his King counterpart, Kelly Hrudey.

But Ranford was brilliant in facing a Sunday night barrage.

“It got to the point where I was so exhausted,” he said. “Maybe that’s the best thing that could have happened, because you don’t think too much. They kept coming at us, and we kept getting the puck out.

“It seemed that in the first two periods, they were in our zone most of the time, but we kept battling and battling.”

After Game 4, during which Luc Robitaille scored the game-winning goal after the Kings intercepted an errant clearing pass by Ranford, the Oiler goaltender made a promise to Coach Ted Green.

“He told Teddy that he’s going to start fighting through everything, and that’s what Billy Ranford did,” Low said. “He carried the load.”

Afterward, he showed that he is aware of the goaltender’s lot.

Hero one day, goat the next.

“I’ve dealt with it the last three years, ever since I got the starting role,” Ranford said. “I’m going to get the questions. I’m going to get upset. But you’ve just got to fight back. That’s all there is to it. Like I said (Friday night), I’m trying my hardest.”

If the Kings eliminate the Oilers, they would advance to the Smythe Division final to play the Vancouver Canucks or the Winnipeg Jets in a series that tentatively is scheduled to start Saturday or Monday.

If the Kings play Winnipeg, they would hold home-ice advantage in the series, and Games 1 and 2 probably would be played at the Forum on Monday and Wednesday nights, King executive vice president Roy Mlakar said.

If the Kings play Vancouver, the series probably would start on Saturday with a game at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

Defenseman Larry Robinson of the Kings, who is retiring after 20 seasons in the NHL and was honored between the first and second periods, has been sidelined since Game 2 because of an ankle injury.

His status is being evaluated on a daily basis, he said.

“I tried (skating) the other day,” Robinson said. “I put a skate on and I could get around going straight. I just had a little problem moving laterally. I’ll try it again (today) to see how it goes.”