For Kings, Close Is Not Enough

If someone had told the Kings that they would play the New York Rangers to a tie before the start of their current five-game trip, they would have been more than happy.

But that was not the case Sunday night after their first victory of the season escaped them on a questionable goal by former King Kevin Stevens with 8.3 seconds left in regulation.

Stevens’ first goal of the season lifted the Rangers to a 2-2 tie and kept the Kings winless (0-1-2) despite a strong effort from goaltender Stephane Fiset before 18,200 at Madison Square Garden.

Thanks to goals by Craig Johnson and Donald MacLean, the Kings had victory within their grasp, but they could not hold off a furious final charge by the Rangers, who trailed, 2-1, going into the third period.

With 50 seconds left in regulation, the Rangers pulled goaltender Mike Richter and scored an apparent goal by Marc Savard nine seconds later. The goal, however, was disallowed because New York’s Pat LaFontaine was ruled to be in the crease before the score.

The Kings’ Sandy Moger then had a chance to clinch the victory with an open net shot from center ice. But his shot bounced inches from the right post to give New York one last rush. The Rangers then tied the score when a shot by defenseman Brian Leetch deflected off a skate to Stevens, who scored from outside the left post.

After a short review by officials, Stevens’ goal was allowed because it was ruled he did not enter the crease until after the puck.

“I didn’t know whether I was in or out [of the crease],” said Stevens, traded last summer for left wing Luc Robitaille. “I knew it was close. Maybe, [the officials] didn’t have enough guts to call it back. Who knows. I just waited for the bad news because I’ve had a lot of bad [luck] happen to me the last couple of years.”

Stevens’ goal may have cost the Kings their first victory but it did not take away from their best game of the young season as they limited former King Wayne Gretzky to one assist. Fiset, criticized by Coach Larry Robinson for his lack of conditioning following a 6-5 loss at Boston on Thursday, was especially sharp over the final 25 minutes of the game with several impressive stops.

Fiset, who finished with 30 saves, had to hold off steady pressure from the Rangers, who outshot the Kings, 18-3, over the third period and overtime.

“I know in Boston that I didn’t play well, but I just had a bad game . . . I blame myself, I gave up three bad goals or we win, 5-3,” Fiset said. “But, I don’t think it was because of my conditioning. If I was in really really bad shape, I wouldn’t have played like this tonight.

“But, [Robinson] was right in that it is pretty hard to play two games in a row like that [the Kings had a 3-3 tie at Pittsburgh on Wednesday] . . . you do have to be in pretty good shape to do so. I just had a bad game.”

Against a Ranger team that crushed them twice last season by a combined score of 10-2, the Kings more than held their own. As they had in their first two games, the Kings fell behind early when Niklas Sundstrom scored 3:48 into the first period.

The Kings responded midway in the period behind a line centered by Jozef Stumpel with Glen Murray at right wing and Johnson at left wing. After aggressive play by the King forwards kept the puck in the Ranger zone, Johnson--who has become one of the team’s most versatile players--scored his first goal of the season on a rebound at the 9:28 mark.

For most of the second period, the score remained tied, 1-1, until MacLean made a nifty stick move and scored from outside the right post with 33 seconds left in the period.

The Kings kept their 2-1 lead until the late Ranger rush, which didn’t surprise King defenseman Mattias Norstrom.

“We knew that they were going to come hard because the crowd was really getting behind them,” Norstrom said. “We tried to stay cool and keep the lead. We were fortunate that the first goal was called off but after that it was just a scramble.”