Hrudey Makes 50 Saves, but Kings Only Tie Panthers

It’s difficult to say what was stranger Tuesday night at Miami Arena.

Was it Air Panther, a low-flying blimp, designed for mindless intermission entertainment?

The Panther mascot with a stick, whacking a Wayne Gretzky doll on the ice?

Or the Kings getting outshot, 52-31, by the run-and-gun expansion Florida Panthers, who, oddly enough, are coached by the symbol of conservative hockey, Roger Neilson?

For at least one night, the teams seemed to trade personalities and the Kings were saved by their diving, scrambling goaltender Kelly Hrudey, who made 50 saves in the Kings’ 2-2 tie against the Panthers before a sellout crowd of 14,317. After establishing a 2-0 lead in the opening 3:16, the Kings virtually took off the next 61:44 and left the duty to Hrudey. Still, they remained unbeaten since their season opener and are 4-1-2.

“It’s not like he’s in the army and getting shot at,” King Coach Barry Melrose said. “It’s not like he’s getting 50 bullets.”

So why was Hrudey left alone in the bunker in the opener of this seven-game trip?

Oddly enough, Hrudey had a certain feeling about this game. But even he could not have predicted that the Kings would have to hold on in overtime to leave Miami with one point.

“Last night, I was thinking I better be ready,” Hrudey said. “I have yet to have an easy game against an expansion team. They make you believe they have limited talent, then they crash the net and shoot.”

One by one, the Kings paid homage to their goaltender.

“Kelly played a great game and kept us in it,” said center Jimmy Carson, who had two points.

Said Gretzky: “You need someone to come up big and he was the one tonight.”

Earlier, it appeared as though Carson was going to be that player as he scored the first goal and added an assist in a 19-second span. Two Panther turnovers led to the Kings’ goals. Defenseman Greg Smyth’s pass from out of the corner hit teammate Jesse Belanger in the back and came right to Carson, who was alone in the slot.

The goal came at 2:57 of the first period and it was Carson’s first goal since the season opener on Oct. 6.

Then the line of left wing Shawn McEachern-Carson-Gary Shuchuk again caught the Panthers in a defensive breakdown. Florida goaltender Mark Fitzpatrick turned the puck over behind the net and had to rush to get back. McEachern easily put it in from the right crease at 3:16. Carson and Shuchuk picked up assists.

The Panthers goals--from Belanger and defenseman Gord Murphy--came in a 3:52 span in the second period and Hrudey had no chance on either.

“Heck, maybe we should have got down 2-0 and then you concentrate on bearing down,” King defenseman Tim Watters said. “. . . Deep down we’re disappointed. But we’re also happy to get a point. Barry told us we learned a cheap lesson tonight.”

Said Neilson, whose team is 2-2-3: “We know we played one of the best teams in the NHL and we outplayed them. We took over the game for big stretches.”

Melrose knew it, too. He looked at the final scoresheet, folded it and then ripped it up and tossed the scraps on the ground.

“It’s human nature. Talented men sometimes take shortcuts,” he said, shaking his head.