Robinson: No Cheers for Referee

It’s a good bet that referee Bill McCreary and King Coach Larry Robinson did not meet for drinks after Tuesday night’s 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars before 10,047 at the Great Western Forum.

McCreary played a decisive role in the outcome of the game when he allowed a questionable first-period Dallas goal and then called a bench minor penalty against the Kings and ejected Robinson for arguing the call. The Stars then scored on their power play for a two-goal swing.

“The first goal [in a game] is always important, that’s why I was so upset,” said Robinson, ejected for the first time in his three-year coaching career. “Everybody had stopped. You can clearly see it on the replay too. They want us to keep our composure all of the time, but when it’s an important game and it could cost you a game and they make a call like that, it’s not a great situation.”

The play in question happened when the Kings’ Jason Morgan dragged down Dallas forward Pat Verbeek and McCreary held up his arm to call a hooking penalty.

When King goaltender Stephane Fiset played the puck behind the team’s net, however, a whistle was not blown. So when Fiset’s clearing pass was knocked down by Dallas winger Jamie Wright, play was allowed to continue and Wright passed to a wide-open Verbeek, who scored into an empty net from the top of the crease at 7:44.

The Kings were then given a bench minor for complaining about McCreary’s slow whistle and before the team was able to put a player into the penalty box, Robinson was ejected.

“[McCreary] blew the call,” said Robinson, who spent the rest of the game sitting next to assistant Don Edwards and General Manager Dave Taylor in the stands. “He called a delayed penalty. Steph stopped and played the puck. . . . The whistle should have blown, everybody had stopped.

“[McCreary] wouldn’t even come over to the bench, probably because I was yelling at him. I don’t scream for nothing, I know it’s a tough job. All we’re asking for is a fair shake.”

To compound the Kings’ problems, Dallas--which has the best power play in the NHL and is 35-5-8 when scoring first--took a 2-0 lead when Joe Nieuwendyk lifted a shot from outside the right post over Fiset at 8:19.

“At no time did I see the goaltender play the puck, which would constitute possession and control, so I did not kill the play,” said McCreary, who ejected Robinson for “verbal abuse.” “It’s no different than if it was a shot. At no time did I see him play the puck.”

The Stars received another break early in the second period on their third goal, when, during a line change, Jere Lehtinen fired a shot near the Kings’ blue line that deflected off Aki Berg’s stick into the air. To Fiset’s surprise, the puck wobbled over his shoulder into the net, giving Dallas a 3-0 lead 5:09 into the period.

The Kings came alive in the third period and gave the Stars all they could handle as Glen Murray scored at 6:28 to cut Dallas’ lead to 3-1. Verbeek then gave Dallas a three-goal lead again when he scored his second goal of the game at 13:18 to make the score 4-1.

The Kings responded with power-play goals by Murray and Rob Blake, whose score with 2:56 remaining led to a frantic finish.

Assistant Jay Leach, who along with Rick Green coached the team in Robinson’s absence, said the Kings did not adjust to the Stars’ conservative style until the third period.

“The type of game that they play was tough for us early on and we didn’t respond to it,” Leach said of the Stars, who were without injured key players Mike Modano, Derian Hatcher, Benoit Hogue and Sergei Zubov. “We finally got going with the same type of gritty play.”