Satan’s Goal in Overtime Is Heavenly Against Kings

The larger-than-life statue of Wayne Gretzky still says “remember me” when you walk into the House That No. 99 Built, but little-known Miroslav Satan keeps tearing down the legend.

Maybe the devil makes Satan do it, but the Edmonton Oiler winger did another number on Gretzky and his teammates Friday, getting the overtime winner in a 5-4 victory over the Kings at Northlands Coliseum.

During the lockout, in the only other game Satan has played against Gretzky (an exhibition), Satan got the winner for the International Hockey League Detroit Vipers.

“Miro is Gretzky’s biggest nemesis. They’re going to have to put Wayne on him,” Oiler assistant coach Bob McCammon kidded.

“Wayne check me?” Satan said, looking as if he’d like to duck into the training room to avoid any more questions. “Luck . . . that’s all it is.”

Satan buried a 30-footer on Kelly Hrudey, who had relieved starter Byron Dafoe 15 minutes into the sloppily played game. It was the eighth consecutive road loss for the Kings, who haven’t won in an opposing rink since Nov. 13 at The Pond of Anaheim.

The shot on Hrudey was the 48th for the Oilers, who had only 98 goals in 37 games coming into this one. Yet they had 35 on Hrudey after he replaced Dafoe. He gave up the tying goal to Doug Weight on a nifty backhand two minutes into the third to tie it, 4-4, but otherwise was spectacular.

But the only statistic Hrudey cared about Friday was the score.

“I’m not degrading the Oilers but I’m mad,” he said. “We shouldn’t be giving up that many shots. We’re losing to too many teams under .500.”

“If we think the Oilers aren’t going to play hard, then we’re knuckleheads,” Marty McSorley said.

He didn’t get any argument from King Coach Larry Robinson, who has seen this show far too often.

“Too many fancy plays and they only look good on the replays,” Robinson said. “We didn’t make good decisions with the puck, the forwards didn’t hustle back. If you’re going to take the easy way, you get the losing way.”

Hrudey was sensational in the second. He stopped all 16 shots as the Kings squeezed two past Bill Ranford to take a 4-3 lead. They got both in a 43-second spurt midway through the period against some atrocious Oiler defense.

John Druce doubled his season output with his second of the night to tie it when he put in a Robert Lang shot after they had kept the puck in for close to 30 seconds.

“It’s been a long while,” said Druce, who hadn’t beat a goalie in two months.

Dafoe was yanked after giving up three goals in 13 shots. Robinson decided on Dafoe rather than Hrudey, figuring the Oilers had a thick book on Hrudey (47 career games against Edmonton) but nothing on the rookie. Good idea, but Robinson was paging Hrudey when they fell behind, 3-1, even if Dafoe could be faulted on only one goal.

“Byron’s been fighting it and I thought this would be a good pick-me-up for him, but when things are going bad, bad luck follows you around, it seems. They got two flukes,” Robinson said.

Gretzky scored on his only shot of the first two periods, a gimme from the edge of the crease after some sloppy Oiler play. It was his 80th career point against his former team.