Waste Makes Want for Kings After 3-3 Tie With Chicago

Even hours before he learned the San Jose Sharks’ score, King goaltender Kelly Hrudey was talking about lost opportunities.

The Kings are desperately seeking points anywhere they can find them. And one was snatched away on Sunday afternoon in the final 2:04 of regulation when Chicago’s Jocelyn Lemieux scored on a rebound as he was parked near the crease, pulling the Blackhawks to a 3-3 tie with the Kings before 18,472 at Chicago Stadium.

So instead of heading back to Los Angeles with two points from a victory, the Kings lost ground in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Eighth-place San Jose, which beat the Mighty Ducks on Sunday, opened up a six-point lead on the 10th-place Kings.

“We all realize the seriousness of our position,” said Hrudey, who faced 45 shots. “But there are two schools of thought. One is it’s a tough building and we tied. The second, which it should be, is we lost one point we desperately needed.”

In the other quest, Wayne Gretzky remained three goals from tying Gordie Howe’s NHL record of 801. Gretzky was pointless and had only one shot on goal, in the third period.

He has never scored against Chicago goaltender Ed Belfour.

“The strength of my career is I’ve always taken what’s thrown at me,” Gretzky said. “They came at me hard--(Chris) Chelios and (Brent) Sutter. When they did (come at me), someone else would be open.

“I had one good chance early in the third, and Belfour made the save. Other than that, they did a pretty good job on me.”

Said Chicago Coach Darryl Sutter: “He got a lot of ice time. He’s a dangerous guy out there. He’s responsible for half of their offense. I’m just glad we only have to play him two more times this season.”

Gretzky’s teammates didn’t start quickly, either. These days, the Kings seem incapable of stringing together three solid periods of hockey.

Sunday, the opening period was the big stumbling block. They managed only five shots, and the fourth didn’t come until 3:44 remained in the first.

Chicago outshot the Kings, 44-22, in regulation and finished with a 45-24 lead. The Kings’ best line was left wing Luc Robitaille (one goal, one assist), center Robert Lang (one goal, one assist) and right wing John Druce (one assist). Defenseman Charlie Huddy scored the other King goal.

Gretzky has not scored in consecutive games, and it appears he might pass Howe during a three-game home stand at the Forum.

He acknowledged that his excitement over the record might be making him press a bit on the ice. His father, Walter, called him last week to tell him to quit dragging it out.

This hasn’t been the easiest week for Gretzky. His business partner and friend, comic actor John Candy, died on Friday. Gretzky, Candy and King owner Bruce McNall had purchased the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in 1991, and the three were often spotted on the sideline at games.

“It’s a very sad day,” Gretzky said. “John was John. He was a genuinely nice man. My thoughts are with his family.”

King Notes

Among those in attendance were prospective owner Joe Cohen, who was on the Wayne Gretzky watch during the three-game trip. King owner Bruce McNall, who attended a couple of coin auctions last week in Europe, joined the team in Chicago on Saturday.