Kings Make the Cut

No matter what he does, misfortune seems to dog King left wing Kevin Stevens.

What should have been a happy night for Stevens--his first goal since last February 24 and a 3-2 King victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday at the Forum--was marred when he was rammed into the boards and sustained an eight-stitch cut on his mouth and bruise on his neck, forcing him to leave the game late in the second period.

Stevens, who underwent extensive facial surgery several years ago after falling face-first to the ice and breaking many bones, was to be taken to the hospital for precautionary X-rays. “That’s a tough break for Kevin, but it was good to see him get his first goal,” King forward Brent Grieve said. “It was a dirty hit. The guy [Daniel Lacroix] came up with an elbow and that a penalty wasn’t called was ridiculous. But I’m sure Kevin will be coming back and getting a lot more goals this season.”

Stevens, who scored only three goals in 20 games last season after being acquired in a trade for Rick Tocchet, was injured Tuesday when he was hit into the boards by Lacroix at 16:48 of the second period. Afterward, Lacroix had to fend off several retaliatory moves by the Kings and finally fought Matt Johnson in front of the King net early in the third period.

Stevens’ goal sparked a comeback for the Kings (3-3-0) in an overall strong performance. Goaltender Byron Dafoe made 31 saves in recording his first career triumph over the Flyers after three losses and a tie. Philadelphia is 2-4-0 and a shadow of the menace it can be when center Eric Lindros is in the lineup. Lindros has yet to play this season because of a pulled groin muscle.

An enthusiastic Forum crowd of 10,505 saw the Kings defeat the Flyers for the first time since April 1, 1993, and the first time at the Forum since March 3, 1992. All three King victories this season have been by a one-goal margin.

Although the Kings played well in the second and third periods, they fell behind early Tuesday, as has become their habit. “We showed a lot of character, which I think we’ve done all season,” said Dafoe, who lost a 5-4 overtime decision to the Flyers last Thursday at Philadelphia. “We played a good second period and played extremely well defensively in the third.”

Said King Coach Larry Robinson of his team’s one-goal victory: “They build a lot of character on your team, because once you get to crunch time, there are going to be a lot of close ones. So we might as well get used to them now.”

The Flyers took advantage of defensive confusion by the Kings to score the game’s first goal. When two Kings went to puck carrier Scott Daniels, Pat Falloon was left open and Falloon took a pass from Daniels and flicked it past Dafoe at 2:39 for his first goal of the season.

The second period, however, was dominated by the Kings, who picked apart a defense that is widely considered among the NHL’s best.

With Flyer defenseman Petr Svoboda serving a penalty for having cross-checked Ian Laperriere, the Kings tied the game. Petr Klima made a good play to keep the puck in at the point and pivoted along the boards before passing to Stevens. From just outside the crease, Stevens lifted a backhander that caught Snow by surprise and slid under the falling goalie at 8:10.

The Kings surged ahead at 9:39, while Barry Potomski was serving a cross-checking penalty. Yanic Perreault sneaked behind Rod Brind’Amour on the right side and passed back to Modry, who was rushing in from the blue line. Modry whipped a hard shot past Snow for his first goal since last Dec. 30, when he was with Ottawa.

The Kings padded their led to 3-1 at 13:04 of the second period, with the inadvertent help of Flyer defenseman Karl Dykhuis. First, Dykhuis’ attempted clearing pass off the boards was kept in at the right point by King defenseman John Slaney. He got the puck into the right-wing corner to Brent Grieve, who saw Ray Ferraro and Klima going to the net and threw a centering pass toward the goal. Before the puck could reach either of his teammates, it caromed off Dykhuis and into the net, for a goal that was credited to Grieve.

The Flyers moved within a goal at 5:34 of the third period when defenseman Kjell Samuelsson blasted a shot that sailed into the upper-left corner of the net for his first goal of the season.

KING-SIZED PLANS: Coming off a championship season in Colorado, goalie Stephane Fiset has ambitious goals with the Kings. C6