Breaking the Ice : In the Great Debut, Gretzky Gets Goal and Blues Get Tie

A whole new world dawned for Wayne Gretzky on Thursday night in his friendly native country--a hat trick of sorts--in his debut with the St. Louis Blues.

He played. He scored. And . . . he didn’t lose.

For Gretzky, it was back to the future at GM Place in his first game in a Blues’ uniform after a tumultuous week in which the league’s all-time leading scorer was traded to St. Louis on Tuesday night for three players and two draft picks.

Of course, he used to receive some quality playing time with the Kings, but that seemed long ago. And Gretzky had only scored one goal in his final 12 games with the Kings. As for wins and losses, the Kings have won only twice since Jan. 6 and hadn’t won a regular-season game in Vancouver since April 12, 1992, suffering 10 consecutive losses.

Some of that was corrected-- at least for one night--as the Blues tied the Vancouver Canucks, 2-2, in overtime before a sellout crowd of 18,422 in a game filled with playoff-type atmosphere, a rare big occasion in February. It seemed as though Gretzky merely had to shed the silver and black of the Kings to attain hockey liberation with the Blues.

Clearly, he’s getting this rebirth stuff down to a perfect science. In his debut with the Kings, Gretzky scored on his very first shot in an 8-2 victory against the Detroit Red Wings at the Forum on Oct. 6, 1988.

So, it took him two whole shots to score in his first game with the Blues.

Gretzky had two shots in the first period--the first was a long-range backhander. Then, he scored a goal in a very un-Gretzkylike manner--on a breakaway at 16:24 of the first against Canuck goaltender Kirk McLean for his 16th goal of the season and 82nd point. Hitting him with a breakout pass was forward Stephane Matteau. And Gretzky’s close friend and new linemate Brett Hull had the second assist.

On the breakaway, chasing Gretzky was Vancouver left wing Martin Gelinas--trivia buffs may remember that Gelinas was involved in the first Gretzky trade from Edmonton to Los Angeles in 1988, passing Gretzky on his way out of Edmonton.

Gretzky, showing good speed, shifted the puck a couple of times and kept the puck on his forehand. He beat McLean on the stick side with a quick release, placing the puck under his right shoulder to give the Blues a 2-0 lead. For years, Gretzky’s friends and teammates have teased him about his lack of brilliance on breakaways.

After scoring, Gretzky looked up at the scoreboard and pumped his fists, and Hull, appropriately, was the first to congratulate him. Hull, who never gave up in trying to persuade the Blues to trade for Gretzky, patted him on the helmet and hugged him.

Indeed, it was a night filled with semi-significant trivia as McLean had been the victim of Gretzky’s record 802nd goal on March 23, 1994, when he passed Gordie Howe.

The crowd--some of it, at least--actually cheered for Gretzky when he scored. But their most fervent applause was saved for star right wing Alexander Mogilny, who scored twice, his 50th and 51st goals, as he joined Pavel Bure as the only Canucks to score 50 goals in a season.

St. Louis Coach Mike Keenan used Gretzky as often as possible, on the power-play and even killing a penalty in the first period. Gretzky played eight minutes and 54 seconds in the opening 20 minutes, and it surprised him.

“I’m exhausted,” he said in a television interview in between periods. “I haven’t killed penalties in ages.

For Gretzky, the tension and uncertainty lifted as soon as he left Los Angeles. Earlier in the day, he wandered down to the hotel lobby and chatted with reporters for about 15 minutes and signed autographs for excited fans and went on a shopping spree with Hull.

Hull hardly seemed to leave Gretzky’s side all day. They were on the ice together constantly--along with linemate Shayne Corson on the left wing--and Hull sat next to Gretzky on the bench and even sipped water at the same time. The only time they were separated was when Dale Hawerchuk sat down between Gretzky and Hull--clearly an oversight. No word on whether Keenan is planning on benching Hawerchuk.