Kings Unable to Hold Back the Oiler Tide : They Slow Gretzky Down, but Lose the War and Series, 5-4

EDMONTON, Canada —  In the end for the Kings, who played at times beyond their limits, it came down to this: They stood between the Edmonton Oilers and what looks like their destiny.

The Kings were an obstacle that had to be removed and the Oilers, like skillful surgeons, sliced away the thing that held them back. With their 5-4 win over the Kings before 16,936 in the Northlands Coliseum Tuesday night, the Oilers continue the quest for that which was taken from them: The championship of professional hockey.

After eliminating the stubborn Kings, 4 games to 1 in the Smythe Division semifinal, the Oilers will continue through this lengthy post-season maze. The Kings lost again to the team they have faced for three consecutive times in the first round.

The Oilers appear to be driving inexorably toward the Stanley Cup final, and Tuesday they were thanking the Kings for providing the impetus. To their credit, the Kings have been more than a blip on the screen to the Oilers.

“They gave us the kind of games we needed,” Edmonton Coach Glen Sather said. After winning two consecutive Stanley Cups, the Oilers were lulled to sleep in their 3-0 sweep of the Vancouver Canucks in the first round last season and then were upset by the Calgary Flames in the second round.

Indeed, the five games were imbued with the kind of intensity and effort that the Kings, at least, have searched for the entire season.

Tuesday’s game was one in which the Kings had to win in order to stay alive in the playoffs. They played with that purpose, and nearly pulled it off.

The Oilers took an early lead, but the Kings tied it twice, 1-1 at the end of the first period and 3-3 at the end of the second.

“I’m very proud of our team, we had 20 guys that battled,” King Coach Mike Murphy said. “With the exception of the second game (in which the Kings lost, 13-3) we competed with them. If we were playing any other team, the series would be 3-2 right now.

“I think that if the Oilers play like they did in the last four games, there’s not any team in the league that can beat them. It’s just that offensive magic.”

The Kings were able to contain at least one magician Tuesday night. Wayne Gretzky had neither a goal nor an assist, a moral victory in itself. Credit Phil Sykes, whose job it was to hound Gretzky.

“I take my hat off to Phils Sykes,” Murphy said. “He is a courageous young man.”

Both teams showed courage, as did the goaltenders, in the face of a wide-open game. The Oilers broke the third-period tie with a goal by Esa Tikkanen, his second of the night.

King goaltender Rollie Melanson had come out to poke check the puck from Mark Messier, and fell to the ice. Tikkanen picked up the rebound to score at 7:53. Melanson had 30 saves.

Glenn Anderson got his second goal of the game at 10:47 of the third to give the Oilers a 5-3 lead, and the Kings fits.

“They scored their fourth and fifth goals quickly, that put us back on our heels,” Murphy said.

Defenseman Mark Hardy brought the Kings to within one, after carrying the puck through the Edmonton zone and scoring on a backhand shot at 15:47.

Murphy hopes for his team did not diminish. “I really thought something would break for us and we’d get a goal,” he said.

Finally, the Oilers got the breaks, or worked for them.

“I think the Oilers are playing as good as I’ve seen them play,” King forward Dave Taylor said. “I don’t know what team can beat them. I think they’ll win the Stanley Cup.”

Defenseman Jay Wells was likewise philosophical: On the one hand proud of the effort, on the other, a little in awe of the Oilers.

“You always want to be put out of the playoffs by the team that goes all the way,” Wells said. “If they keep going like this . . . they have guys who do incredible stuff. They have guys who will get a goal and make you look stupid. They can win the whole thing.”

The Oilers came out shooting again. They outshot the Kings, 16-6 in the first period.

Gretzky’s line struck first as Tikkanen scored for the Oilers at 1:22.

Jari Kurri passed to Tikkanen, who was behind all the Kings. He took the puck from right to left in the slot and lifted it into the right corner.

The Kings scored with their first shot on goal. Jim Fox maneuvered through three Oilers in the Edmonton zone and backhanded a shot past Grant Fuhr, who made a late stab at the puck.

Every rush of Gretzky’s line produced either a shot on goal or a dangerous clog in front of the King net. The line of Sykes, Bob Bourne and Bryan Erickson had the primary responsibility to guard Gretzky’s line.

The second period began with the Kings killing the Oilers’ second power play. They scored in their third opportunity, with the man advantage, however, at 6:45.

Mark Messier’s high-velocity shot glanced off Melanson’s stick and into the net to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead.

The Oilers, who are third on the power play in the playoffs, scored on their next power play, at 10:53.

The passing of Steve Smith to Messier to Anderson befuddled the Kings. Anderson scored from the side to give the Oilers a two-goal lead.

At that point, behind and having to work terribly hard for every scoring opportunity, the Kings have been known to fold. They did not Tuesday night.

Taylor clawed his way to the Kings’ next goal. He dug the puck off the boards on the left side and wrapped it around to fire at Grant Fuhr at point-blank range. His goal made it 3-2 and came at 12:08 of the second period.

The Kings were not through. They are ranked eighth on the power play, but had precious few chances in this series. In fact, Murphy has said that any four Oiler penalty killers are capable of scoring a short-handed goal.

Against those odds, the Kings prevailed on their third power play of the game. Steve Duchesne’s slap shot from high in the slot deflected off Oiler defenseman Randy Gregg’s stick and into the net to tie it.

It was the first King power-play goal in three games--and their last of the season.

King Notes The Oilers and Kings broke their own NHL record for goals scored in five games in the playoffs. The 52 combined goals broke the record of 50, set in 1982. . . . The Oilers hold a 9-4 lead in the playoffs against the Kings. . . . The Kings are 25-49 in the club’s history in the Stanley Cup playoffs. . . . The Kings have a 1-6 record in a best-of-seven series. The last time they won such a series was in the 1968 playoffs, when the Kings eliminated the Oakland Seals.