Stanley Cup Playoffs : Edmonton Takes 3-1 Lead Over the Frustrated Flyers

PHILADELPHIA —  A pre-game scuffle, some shoving at the end of periods, Ron Hextall’s vicious chop to the legs of Oiler Kent Nilsson--these were all the byproducts of the bile and frustration the Philadelphia Flyers felt as they watched the disciplined Edmonton Oilers outskate and outshoot them, again Sunday night and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup finals.

The Oilers’ 4-1 playoff victory in front of a sellout crowd was a dramatic fall from grace for the Flyers. They had fashioned a sparkling comeback here Friday night, fighting back from a three-goal deficit to a 5-3 win.

The euphoria of that win had buoyed the Flyers. But in their frustration and their anger Sunday night, they lost their discipline as well as the game. Consequently, the teams return to Edmonton for Game 5 Tuesday night, where the Oilers need only one win to capture this best-of-seven series.

Edmonton played superbly, and when they do that, they are as irritating and infuriating as a stubborn insect. Flyer defenseman Mark Howe on guarding Wayne Gretzky: “I know a lot of people are wanting us to hit him, but it’s like trying to hit a little gnat.”

In this most-important game, the Flyers wore their emotions on their sleeves . . . and gloves and sticks.

A scuffle during pre-game warmups set the tone for what followed. Oiler defenseman Kevin Lowe went into the Flyer zone to retrieve an errant puck. Philadelphia goaltender Glenn Resch came at Lowe his with his stick.

The ensuing shoving session was more silly than dangerous, but it did incite the fans to incidents of their own. Edmonton Coach Glen Sather said a fan spit on him as he left the ice, and then took a swing at Sather. Sather pushed the fan, as television cameras recorded the incident.

That came after someone had tossed a pair of shoes onto the playing surface between the second and third periods.

Sather’s dry observation of the fans here: “They are very involved in the game.”

As Gretzky became more involved in the game for Edmonton--setting up the Oilers’ two first-period goals--the Flyers became more anxious, and pressed. That opened up the ice for the Oilers’ pinpoint passing plays. It was Edmonton, 2-0, after the first period. Frustrating.

The Flyers scored in the second period, on their fourth power play, from Brad McCrimmon’s slap shot. But Edmonton scored on its next power play to take a 3-1 lead at 12:31 of the second period.

There was more shoving after the period ended, and, when the Oilers’ Mike Krushelnyski stole a Brad Marsh clearing pass and backhanded a goal past Hextall, the rookie goaltender found that his wits and his patience had ended.

Fourteen seconds later Hextall came out of the crease almost to the blue line to complain to referee Andy vanHellemond about the traffic in front of his net. For that, and the language which he used, Hextall was given a 10-minute misconduct.

And, since goaltenders do not leave the ice to serve their penalties, Hextall was left to stew in his anger.

About five minutes later, Hextall exploded. Glenn Anderson of the Oilers swooped in and fired a point-blank shot at Hextall, which Hextall saved. Anderson then moved behind the net, but slashed Hextall on the pads on his way. The booming thud was heard clearly over the din of the crowd.

Hextall instantly whirled around to see if a penalty had been called on Anderson. None had. Incensed, Hextall then slashed at Nilsson, whose sin was to be the nearest available Oiler.

The unexpected blow sent Nilsson falling to the ice and, eventually, out of the game for a short time. Hextall had wound up and swung with all his might and anger, and the edge of his thicker, heavier goaltender’s stick caught Nilsson on the shin.

Hextall was given a five-minute major penalty for slashing. Sather said there was a possibility that Nilsson had a broken bone in his leg. Nilsson did return to the game, but said later he couldn’t straighten his leg.

It was a revealing incident. Hextall is a notorious hothead. His 104 penalty minutes in the regular season set an NHL record for goaltenders. Hextall is also a rookie, in a pressure-filled series that would test a veteran’s mettle.

The Flyers’ killed the penalty and the game ended, but the ugliness lingered, as it always does when this sport is marred with incidents like these.

Gretzky was alarmed at the incident.

“I’ve always told people that what’s scarier about hockey than any other sport, is that we athletes have frustrations and we let out our frustrations,” Gretzky said. “But in hockey, we all carry lethal weapons, and sometimes it gets out of hand.”

Flyer Coach Mike Keenan said Hextall’s slash was “uncalled for, it was a response to a slash by Anderson. There is frustration.”

Hextall and other Flyers said they had been telling vanHellemond during the game that the Oilers were slashing, and that they planned to do something about it.

Sather said Hextall’s action was frustration, not retaliation. “(Anderson) slashed him on the goalie pads? I wonder if that hurt him?” Sather said. “There is no person in this building who didn’t think it was frustration.”

After the game, Hextall was subdued but unrepentant.

“He (Anderson) gave me a good slash, as good as I gave Nilsson,” he said. “It’s not frustration, they’ve been doing that all series. Unfortunately, Nilsson got it instead of Anderson. If I let them get away with it, what are they going to do the next time--break my arm? If they think they can get away with that, I’ve got news for them. He gives me one, I’d have to give him one back.”

It makes Game 5 look uglier and uglier.

Stanley Cup Notes

Sunday night’s game was Philadelphia’s 23rd of the playoffs, a record. No NHL team has ever needed more than 22 games to win or lose the Stanley Cup. The Oilers have played 18. . . . The Flyers have gone from No. 2 in defense during the regular season to No. 5 in the playoffs. . . . Edmonton goaltender Grant Fuhr had another strong game. He made 27 saves. . . . If a sixth game is necessary, it will be Thursday in Philadelphia.