Gretzky Powers Kings to Finals for 1st Time

Wayne Gretzky on Saturday delivered on a 5-year-old promise to bring the Stanley Cup finals to Los Angeles. He scored three goals in a 5-4 victory over the Maple Leafs at Toronto to give the Kings the Campbell Conference championship, four games to three.

The Kings will meet the Canadiens in a best-of-seven series, beginning Tuesday in Montreal’s Forum, for the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup. After Thursday’s Game 2 there, the teams will play in the Forum in Inglewood on Saturday and Monday, June 7.

The Canadiens had advanced to the finals Monday, beating the New York Islanders, four games to one, for the Wales Conference championship.

Gretzky, who had skated around rinks holding the Stanley Cup aloft four times while playing for the Edmonton Oilers, had vowed to bring that pleasure to Los Angeles upon being traded to the Kings on Aug. 8, 1988.

Since then, though, the Kings have faltered in the playoffs, never going beyond the second round until this season.

Victory came Saturday when Gretzky scored in each period and assisted on Tomas Sandstrom’s score in the first. It was Gretzky’s eighth playoff hat trick, giving him sole possession of the league record he had shared with teammate Jari Kurri and former Canadiens’ star Maurice Richard.

The Kings will now play a team that has been emblematic of hockey excellence. The Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup 23 times.

Details in Sports.