Kings Tie Blues, 2-2, Keep Hold of Gretzky

When they exited the Kiel Center after their 2-2 tie with the St. Louis Blues Saturday, the Kings left behind a few rolls of tape, some soggy towels and much regret that Shayne Corson’s goal with 1:59 to play kept them from gaining their first road victory in 14 games.

But they didn’t leave Wayne Gretzky behind, despite the aggressive efforts of Blue General Manager Mike Keenan over the last month to acquire Gretzky in a trade and the wishful thinking of St. Louis players.

King General Manager Sam McMaster said he had a brief conversation with Keenan here and they spoke only in generalities. “Just like I’d talk to any other manager,” McMaster said. “There’s no update on any potential trades.”

When asked if he had spoken to the Kings about Gretzky, Keenan said, “No,” and did not elaborate.

Blue winger Brett Hull has been energetically lobbying St. Louis’ management to acquire Gretzky before the March 20 deadline.

“I’ve been thinking about Gretzky in a Blue uniform since I was 21,” Hull said. “No, I wasn’t here then. Since I was 23, 24.”

Said Gretzky: “He’s a better campaigner than [presidential candidate Robert] Dole.”

Gretzky, whose back-hand wraparound attempt with 34.2 seconds left in overtime might have won the game if goaltender Grant Fuhr’s right hand was a split-second slower, said he knew no more about his fate than did the reporters clustered around him.

“Until [a player’s agent] gets permission to talk to teams, there’s really no communicating that goes on between individual players and other teams,” said Gretzky, who was greeted warmly by the crowd of 20,141. “I read the rumors and hear the gossip you all hear. I just try to come to the rink and work hard for Larry [Robinson, the Kings’ coach] and play the best I can. It’s a little bit out of my hands.”

The Kings (18-30-15) saw a potential victory slip through their hands when Marty McSorley’s clearing pass hit Jari Kurri and bounced to Corson, who whipped it past a startled Kelly Hrudey. Although the tie extended the Kings’ winless streak to 0-5-3 and their road futility streak to 0-10-4, Robinson couldn’t fault his team’s effort.

“I have no problem when we play games like that,” he said.

Hrudey, who stopped 31 shots but remains winless on the road this season (0-7-4), said his timing on the game-tying goal was thrown off when Corson fanned on the shot and the puck came at him end-over-end.

“Points are hard to come by for us,” he said. “I can remember four or five games in the last six or seven that we’ve played this hard or this well and we’ve only gotten ties or losses to show for it,” he said. “We can only believe we can turn things around and don’t give in to tough-luck excuses.”

The Kings scored first, when Gary Shuchuk’s slap shot from near the blue line hopped past a screened Fuhr 54 seconds into the game. The Blues (26-24-11) matched that 57 seconds later, on a 20-foot shot by Rob Pearson.

Kevin Stevens tapped in a pass from Kurri during a power play at 1:09 of the third period for his third goal in his last four games, a lead that stood up until Corson’s 16th goal of the season.

Fuhr, in his 61st consecutive start, made 22 saves, including the dangerous overtime wraparound effort by Gretzky. “I’ve seen that one before,” Fuhr said of the move by Gretzky, who was his teammate with the Edmonton Oilers.

He’d like to see Gretzky again, every day, in a Blue uniform. “We’d love to have him, that’s for sure,” Fuhr said.

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King Notes

The Kings’ road winless streak is their longest since Dec. 15, 1981, through March 1, 1982, when they were 0-11-8. . . . Left wing Dmitri Khristich, the Kings’ leading goalscorer, underwent an MRI on his sore right knee Saturday. The results are expected today. Philippe Boucher (sore wrist) and Rob Cowie (sprained ankle) didn’t play Saturday and center Steve Larouche didn’t play after suffering a bruised left foot in the second period. Robert Lang was healthy but scratched.