Kings’ Offensive Machine Grinds to Halt in 5-2 Loss

It should come as no surprise that the Kings lost the game to the Vancouver Canucks, 5-2, Sunday night. Not on a night like this.

Not with Wayne Gretzky getting a rare two penalties but nary a point as his 23-game scoring streak screeched to a halt.

Not with Bernie Nicholls getting hit with a gross misconduct penalty after the game for presenting the referee with what he called “the game puck” and for then throwing his stick onto the ice in frustration.

Not with not only Nicholls and Gretzky but also Luc Robitaille and Steve Duchesne and Dave Taylor and Mike Krushelnyski and Bob Carpenter and, well, the Kings’ top 11 scorers, getting shut out.

Not with the great young hope, goalie Mark Fitzpatrick, losing his first National Hockey League game--and with his parents in the stands.

And not with owner Bruce McNall dropping in to see why he keeps hearing rumors that his $20 million superstar, Gretzky, is unhappy.

It was not winnin’ time for the Kings (15-9).

The Canucks won in front of a sellout of 16,553, getting two goals from Tony Tanti, two from Petri Skriko and one from Rich Sutter.

The Canucks were up, 3-0, before Mike Allison scored for the Kings in the second period. And it was 4-1 before Dale DeGray gave the Kings their only other goal.

So why did Nicholls think the “game puck” should be awarded to referee Terry Gregson (brother-in-law of Canuck defenseman Paul Reinhart)?

“Let’s let that just speak for itself,” Nicholls said. “I was acting out of frustration. . . . I just don’t think we should have the same officials two nights in a row. It was the same guys the night before in Calgary.”

Nicholls presented the puck to the referee with the announcement: “It’s the game puck. You earned it.”

Asked what Gregson retorted, Nicholls said: “He just said, ‘Thanks.’ ”

And then Gregson filed the gross misconduct that carries a $100 fine and review by the league president.

“I was pretty surprised at that,” Nicholls said. “Usually to get a gross misconduct you have to swear at ‘em or something. I didn’t swear or nothing.

“I can’t say we lost because of the officials. We can’t use that as an excuse. We got shut down by two good defensive hockey teams. We scored three goals in two games, so you’ve got to give the defenses credit. But I got frustrated because, for the second night, they were holding us and slowing everything down and not letting us play.”

Nicholls had hyper-extended his left knee in the first period of the game at Calgary Saturday night and had missed half of that period. But he wasn’t using the injury as an excuse, either.

“We’ve got to look at ourselves and find a way to play better,” Nicholls said.

Nicholls’ scoring streak had ended in Calgary. Gretzky’s ended in Vancouver, prompting Gretzky to say, “That’s one thing I don’t have to worry about any more.”

Coach Robbie Ftorek agreed with Nicholls’ assessment that the Kings would just have to play better.

“We didn’t play as well as we should have,” Ftorek said. “I don’t know if I’d call it the worst game of the year. But we aren’t doing the things that made us successful before. We need to get back to those things.

“Sometimes you get a little stale, a little stagnant. You can’t do that when you’re playing teams that are ready for you every night or you get caught behind the 8 ball.”

Ftorek had no complaints, though, about the play of the 20-year-old Fitzpatrick.

Although he gave up five goals for his first loss in three starts, Fitzpatrick made some impressive saves, even warding off several sharp deflections as he faced 38 shots.

Fitzpatrick said that he “felt good out there. I felt confident all the way,” he said.

But after the game Fitzpatrick didn’t know which plane he’d be getting on in the morning. “I don’t know whether it’ll be going East (back to New Haven) or South (to Los Angeles),” he said.

Reporters who were told, outside the locker room, that goalie Rollie Melanson had been put on waivers (that will clear Tuesday) and that Fitzpatrick would be staying with the team, went back inside to tell him that the plane would be heading south.

The Kings will be playing their next five games at the Forum.

The Kings split the four-game trip, starting with impressive victories at Philadelphia and at Detroit, but losing the last two.