Kings Face Off After the Game : Hockey: Melrose and Robitaille in yelling match. Jets tie in final seconds.

King Coach Barry Melrose was walking around the dressing room, shaking the hands of his players. This is his customary habit after a victory or a tie, and the Kings were tied by the Jets, 3-3, Sunday afternoon when Winnipeg center Alexei Zhamnov scored with five seconds remaining in regulation.

While making his rounds, Melrose told left wing Luc Robitaille he wanted to speak to him in his office--immediately. Melrose walked down the hallway to his office, looking upset. Robitaille followed him and slammed the door to the office behind him.

Robitaille and Melrose held a loud, expletive-filled conversation that lasted about 20 seconds.

“You’re a selfish . . . player,” Melrose said.

Robitaille: “No I’m . . . not!”

Melrose: “You are too!”

When the exchange ended, Robitaille stormed down the hallway back to the dressing room. He went around the corner and took out his anger upon inanimate objects. If there had been an ice cooler around, it’s safe to bet Robitaille might have tossed it. Moments later, Melrose came out for his postgame news conference and refused to acknowledge the exchange.

“We were talking about fishing spots in Northern Quebec,” Melrose said, smiling.

Just moments after airing out Robitaille, he said the media likes to “blame” players, even though no one from the media was heard screaming at Robitaille.

Robitaille was visibly upset by the incident when he emerged from the trainers’ room about 10 minutes later. “No comment,” he said. “Ask (Melrose). I’ve got nothing to say.”

One player theorized that Melrose was upset by Robitaille’s play before the game-tying goal, that Robitaille was cheating a bit in the neutral zone and not concentrating on his defensive responsibilities. Also, Robitaille has gone pointless in three games on this road trip.

“I think Barry just wants to get (Robitaille) ready for the playoffs,” one player said.

The Kings (35-32-8) weren’t overly damaged by the tie, maintaining their three-point lead over the fourth-place Jets in the Smythe Division. Among the Kings, Robitaille is not the only struggling forward. Wayne Gretzky, who has played well defensively, has no points in two of the last three games. Two-thirds of another line--center Jimmy Carson and right wing Jari Kurri--have gone pointless in three games on this trip.

From the Kings’ perspective, the incident punctuated the fact that they blew a 3-1 lead in the final seven minutes. It had seemed as though Pat Conacher’s goal at 10:54 of the third period to make it 3-1 was enough to silence the Jets. And goaltender Robb Stauber carried a shutout into the third period for the second consecutive game. Stauber, who faced 34 shots, has played well in all five of his starts since returning from goaltending purgatory on March 11.

He stopped Finnish star right wing Teemu Selanne on a breakaway in the first six minutes of the game, coming out of the crease to check him.

With the game being shown live on TV in Finland, however, Selanne would not be denied. He scored his 69th goal of the season at 7:20 of the third period on a breakaway from the blue line in to cut the Kings’ lead to 2-1. There is a reason Selanne has broken all the NHL’s rookie scoring records, and the Kings strangely elected not to shadow him once they took a 3-1 lead on Conacher’s goal.

Winnipeg Coach John Paddock made a slight change for the third period, putting Thomas Steen on a line with Selanne and Zhamnov and it was a successful gamble. Selanne scored his 70th goal with seven minutes remaining, converting a rebound from the right crease.

Selanne had a shot at a hat trick on the game-tying goal. The Jets pulled goaltender Bob Essensa for an extra attacker with 46 seconds remaining, and Selanne tried to jam the puck past Stauber from the left side. The puck squirted to Zhamnov in front and he beat Stauber between the legs, getting off a shot while falling over while being checked by Mark Hardy.

“What can I say?” Stauber said. “I didn’t lose sight of the puck. He just put it in.”

In overtime, the Kings had one shot on goal despite a two-minute power play when Mike Eagles went off for high sticking Warren Rychel. The Jets had four shots in overtime. The game was similar to when the Kings blew a 4-2 lead here on Nov. 10 when Ed Olczyk tied it, 4-4, with seven seconds remaining.

“It’s worse than losing 10-0,” Stauber said. “If you lose 10-0, you can just throw it out. Five seconds is so close. A tie is like kissing your sister, right?”

Stauber paused and put his own twist on the cliche, saying:

“I don’t have a sister, so I’m out of luck on both accounts.”