Conacher Takes Blame After Kings Falter, 4-3

Blame was hanging in the air after the Kings’ 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday night, casting a pall over the dressing room.

Still, none of the Kings pointed a finger at Pat Conacher, so he aimed one squarely at himself after his miscue led to Mike Gartner’s game-winning, power-play goal with 5:54 to play. It finished off the Rangers’ rally from a 3-2 third-period deficit.

Conacher, typically, was out there killing off a penalty after Jimmy Carson was sent off for a dubious tripping call after Alexei Kovalev tumbled to the ice. In his own end, Conacher was doing all the right things when he skated into the passing lane as Ranger defenseman James Patrick took the puck behind the net.

Patrick threw it out front and Conacher got his stick on it. There was one problem--he tipped it to Gartner, who was at the bottom of the left circle. Gartner, a pure goal-scorer if there ever was one, doesn’t miss often and certainly not from that range. He only got off a minimal shot, but it hit goaltender Rick Knickle on the chest and went under his right arm for his 39th of the season.

Conacher was devastated.

“There’s no excuse for it,” he said, shaking his head. “I read the play coming all the way. . . . I should have tipped it into the corner and taken it from there. I tipped it and it went on Gartner’s stick and he just blew it into the net. It was a bad play.

“I’ve done that (correctly) all my life. It’s me. (Coach) Barry (Melrose) put me out there to do the job. I can’t be making mistakes with the game tied.”

Conacher could only think of one word to describe the play: “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.”

Blame also found its way to referee Ron Hoggarth. There was one school of thought as to whether the Kings should have been killing off a penalty in the final seven minutes. Hoggarth had let almost everything go in the third period, and Kovalev could have easily been called for diving.

In fact, he didn’t even make the call right away, acting after the crowd of 18,200 at Madison Square Garden signaled displeasure after Kovalev fell. “I don’t know, I put my stick on him,” Carson said. “Maybe I hooked him a little. I kind of think he embellished it. It was a late call--that’s what kind of upset me. Plus, (Hoggarth) let a lot of stuff go from before.”

Most of the Kings, including Melrose, declined to criticize the officiating. Several players were irritated with the late penalty but didn’t want to speak on the record.

Wayne Gretzky, however, made his feelings known to almost everyone at the Garden. When Hoggarth made the call, Gretzky stood up on the bench and yelled at him for about a minute, throwing his arms into the air. After Gartner scored, Gretzky continued to hammer away at Hoggarth when he went out to take the faceoff.

Later, he cooled off. “I thought all in all, we played a pretty good hockey game,” said Gretzky, who had two assists. “And unfortunately, the penalty at the end of the game was the difference in the hockey game.”

Melrose had his own view. He was angered by the Kings’ tendency to sit on their lead, especially when they could have maintained a three-point lead over fourth-place Winnipeg in the Smythe Division. But the Jets defeated Tampa Bay on Tuesday, pulling within one point of the third-place Kings.

This game was nothing like the shaky Kings’ performances of the last few months. They led, 2-1, after one period on goals by Luc Robitaille (48th of the season) and Conacher (sixth), but started off the second period in a decided lull. Defenseman Rob Blake gave them a 3-2 lead with his 13th goal at 8:43 of the second, yet the Kings couldn’t sustain any momentum.

“We were awful,” Melrose said. “We were awful at the start of the second and at the start of the third. . . . It’s frustrating because we played very well, and we could have easily won. It takes 60 minutes. It’s got to take that every night, not just whenever you feel like it.” King Notes

General Manager Neil Smith of the Rangers, displeased with several aspects of Tuesday’s game, said he plans on future discussions with King General Manager Nick Beverley. Ranger goaltenders Mike Richter and John Vanbiesbrouck have been mentioned in trade rumors off and on all season, many times in connection with the Kings. Previously, the price for Richter has been way too high--defenseman Rob Blake--which put a quick end to any trade talks. . . . Defenseman Brent Thompson (abdominal strain) has been sent to the Kings’ minor-league team in Phoenix for a two-week conditioning assignment.