Notes on a Scorecard - May 17, 1993

Thirteen months ago, Wayne Gretzky and the Kings were shut out by the Edmonton Oilers and eliminated from the playoffs by some of Gretzky’s old drink-from-the-Stanley Cup mates for the third consecutive year. . . .

Eight months ago, a week before the start of the NHL season, Gretzky’s condition was diagnosed as a rare back injury, and he was advised by a doctor to quit hockey. . . .

Three months ago, he heard chants of “Refund! Refund!” at the Forum while he extended his goal-less streak to 15 games and the Kings fell below .500 for the first time all season with a 10-3 defeat to the Washington Capitals. . . .

Today, he is playing what he terms the best all-round hockey of his life and is four victories away from leading the Kings to the Stanley Cup finals. . . .

Call it the Great Comeback. . . .

“My injury was so bad that one of the doctors told me to take the $30 million the Kings owed me and not play again,” Gretzky said on the eve of the opening of the Campbell Conference championship series against Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens. “But money isn’t what motivates me. I was anxious to play Barry Melrose’s style--aggressive, go-to-the-net hockey. I’m the type of player who believes in creating opportunities, not waiting for them. I knew Barry and I would be a perfect match.” . . .

Gretzky, 32, missed 39 games instead of the rest of his career. . . .

“If you ever have a back injury, call Dr. (Robert) Watkins,” Gretzky said. “He saved me. I needed somebody to lean on and that was him. He kept reinforcing the thought in my mind that I would play again.” . . .

If anything, Gretzky might have returned too soon. His goal-less streak reached 16 games and the team that was 20-14-5 without him won only five of its next 18 with him. . . .

“Actually, all that time off might have been a blessing in disguise,” he says now. “Maybe I needed it. With all those Stanley Cup games and Canada Cups, I’ve played a lot of hockey. I’ve been under a microscope since I was 9 years old. I sat back, got refreshed and realized just how badly I missed the game.” . . .

Gretzky led the league in regular-season scoring in two of his first four years in Los Angeles, but this is the first time he has given the impression that he is to the Kings what Magic Johnson was to the Lakers. . . .

The numbers of the playoffs’ leading scorer don’t tell the whole story. He is making the big plays and the right decisions and setting the tone with his work ethic at both ends of the ice. . . .

“I’m pretty honest about myself,” he said. “I can be my worst critic. But I think I’m playing at my best. I didn’t have to make a lot of sacrifices at Edmonton. Here, I’m doing more things in the defensive zone.” . . .

There are other differences from Edmonton, where he hoisted the Cup four times during a stretch of five years. . . .

“Up there, it was ‘ho hum,’ ” he said. “Everybody expected the Oilers to win the championship every year. Here, we’re the underdogs. We’ve got a chance to expand the interest in our sport, to show people how much fun it is to watch, what a great sport it is. I want to be on the ice every shift now. I feel that good.” . . .

*

A visitor to the dressing room Thursday was Larry Robinson, the future Hall of Fame defenseman who spent the last three years of his career with the Kings. . . .

“You’re playing great,” he said to Darryl Sydor, the defenseman who was celebrating his 21st birthday and the victory over the Vancouver Canucks that lifted the Kings into the conference championship series for the first time. . . .

“I learned from watching you,” said Sydor, who idolized Robinson during his glory years with the Montreal Canadiens. . . .

The teacher says the protege is much more mobile than last season when they worked some shifts together during Sydor’s 18 games with the Kings. . . .

Robinson, who is doing public relations work in Florida, is also bullish on Alexei Zhitnik, the rookie from the Ukraine who played on the gold-medal winning team in the 1992 Winter Olympics. . . . “He reminds me of a young Ray Bourque,” Robinson said. “He controls the puck extremely well and doesn’t panic. He did a terrific job on (Pavel) Bure this series.” . . .

Robinson knows perhaps better than anyone else what it takes to win the Cup, having played for six champions in Montreal. . . .

“I give the Kings a good chance to go all the way,” he said. “They’ve already beaten a couple of tough teams. It all starts with Wayne. He’s working his butt off.” . . .

First things first. Let’s say the Kings in six games--what else?--over the Leafs, and Montreal in five over the New York Islanders.