Gretzky Returns With Impact

Wayne Gretzky, out of the Kings’ lineup for more than two weeks with a hyper-extended back, was allowed to play Sunday night against Calgary in Game 3 of the Smyth Division semifinal playoffs series only after convincing team physician Steve Lombardo that he was physically fit.

“He’s had some good days and some bad days, but today was an exceptionally good one,” Lombardo said. “He had a little stiffness (Saturday) when he came off the ice, but today he reported and said he felt great and wanted to play. He said he had no pain, no stiffness, full flexibility.

“The important thing was, I asked him to be honest with me because I knew he wanted to play, and he said he felt great.”

Asked if Gretzky’s availability for the remainder of the playoffs would continue to be determined on a game-to-game basis, Lombardo said: “It’s minute-to-minute. He has not been in a game situation, so we don’t know how he’s going to respond to the increased pace and the contact.”

Gretzky played less than normal, but assisted on the first King goal. He retrieved a rebound and passed to Tomas Sandstrom, who redirected the pass into the goal 23 seconds into the second period.

The NHL’s all-time leading scorer, Gretzky had not played since March 22, when he was hit from behind by Alan Kerr of the New York Islanders. The blow shoved Gretzky into Ken Baumgartner, creating a whiplash effect.

Last week, while the Kings and Flames split the first two games of their series at Calgary, Gretzky stayed home in Encino and attempted to rehabilitate the injury that forced him to miss playoff games for the first time in an 11-season NHL career.

“I wouldn’t let him play because by examining him I could tell that he was not pain-free, nor did he have normal flexibility,” Lombardo said.

Gretzky did not skate with the Kings Sunday morning, instead spending about 90 minutes in therapy, stretching and exercising.

He returned to the Forum about three hours before faceoff.

When a club administrator noted that he seemed to be walking gingerly, Gretzky only nodded and smiled. He turned down all pregame interview requests, including those from three crews televising the game.

About an hour after Gretzky arrived, club owner Bruce McNall met briefly in a hallway under the stands with Coach Tom Webster, then ducked into the locker room to speak with Gretzky.

When McNall emerged, he told a reporter: “He’ll go. The doctors aren’t crazy about this, but he’ll go. He wants to play.”

According to McNall, Gretzky had been advised that it could be several months before the pain in his back completely subsides.

“It’s about at that stage where it’s not going to get a lot better that quickly, and an extra day’s wait isn’t going to make that much of a difference,” McNall said. “The longer he waits, the better it’s going to get. The problem is, how much longer can we wait?”

More important, McNall said, Gretzky wanted to play.

“At the end of the day, it’s up to the player, as long as the doctor says it’s not a (potentially) career-ending type of injury,” McNall said.

And it’s not, Lombardo said.

“If he plays and takes a bad hit, he wouldn’t be able to play after that,” McNall said, “but (his back) wouldn’t be any worse than if he didn’t play at all, so we might as well take that chance now.”

Gretzky was convinced he could play after a pregame warmup.

“Wayne said he felt great--no pain, no stiffness--and he went out, skated around and felt like a normal player,” Lombardo said.