Kings’ Defense Falters, So Does the Officiating

So, what was the worst thing about the Kings’ 7-4 loss to the Stars on Sunday night?

1. The way the Kings played in their zone, blowing defensive coverages right and left and often failing to clear rebounds--and opposing players.

2. The loud, annoying sound system at Reunion Arena that was criticized by two coaches this week--Winnipeg’s John Paddock and Calgary’s Dave King. It’s rumored that folks in Ft. Worth can even hear it if the wind is blowing the right direction.

3. The officiating.

Well, the pale imitation of NHL officiating had to be the worst thing in this game before a sellout crowd of 16,914. And that’s saying something since the Kings (9-10-2) have lost four consecutive road games, including eight of their last nine away from the Forum. King rookie David Goverde made his first start of the season and looked average as he faced 37 shots.

The replacement officials, referee Drew Taylor and linesmen Curt Stevens and Don Moffatt, were not even average, clearly out of their league. One Dallas player could not contain his laughter on the bench and several Kings were laughing at their struggles. A King player said the officials did not know whether play should continue when a team had too many players on the ice.

The officiating wasn’t the Kings’ only problem, however. They fell behind at every turn, trailing 2-0 after one period. In all, they fought back twice to tie the score, at 3-3 and 4-4, only to give up goals right away. After King left wing Mike Donnelly scored his first of two goals on Sunday and seventh of the season, at 16:20 of the second, the Stars’ Paul Broten scored 43 seconds later. It happened again in the third period when Donnelly made the score 4-4 at 4:26 of the third, only to see Paul Cavallini score the game-winner 20 seconds later.

King Coach Barry Melrose was not happy about the replacement officials.

“There were some awful things out there tonight,” Melrose said, shaking his head. “They really lost control there in the third period. Dave Taylor got mugged and they didn’t call it. Luc (Robitaille) goes off for interference and they score the sixth goal. And Mel (Donnelly) gets pulled down on the breakaway and they didn’t call it. I felt that two-minute span completely turned the game around.

“I felt they were adequate until the third period. Then they blew it.”

Equally odd was another call against Robitaille in the second period. Robitaille, who scored twice for his first goals in 15 games, was given a 10-minute misconduct by Taylor after he scored at 12:05 to cut the Stars’ lead to 3-2. Evidently, he got the misconduct for yelling at Dallas goaltender Darcy Wakaluk. Less than 20 seconds before the goal, Wakaluk slashed Robitaille and knocked him to the ice.

“The goalie slashed me and almost broke my leg,” Robitaille said. “It could have been something that put me out for a long time. I went over and said I would be back.

“After the goal I said, ‘I told you I’d be back.’ ” He gave me the 10 and I said, ‘I wasn’t even talking to you.’ I hope there was a supervisor there tonight. It’s a joke. Somebody could have got hurt out there. I said a couple of things (to Wakaluk). Some of the first words I learned in English.”

Melrose could not figure the call out, either.

“(Doug) Gilmour taunted us and it was a two-minute penalty in Los Angeles,” he said. “Tonight, it’s 10. Well, it doesn’t matter.”

King defenseman Rob Blake spoke about another error, which occurred in his favor in the first period when he was assessed four minutes for high-sticking Brent Gilchrist at 11:40. “It should have been a five-minute major,” Blake said. “I could have been out of the game. It was stupid.”

King Notes

A day after Coach Barry Melrose benched Rob Blake for the final 40 minutes against St. Louis, neither was backing down from their statements. Said Melrose: “I don’t make mistakes with players. He’s not the Rob Blake who started the season. The more talent you have, the higher the expectations are.”