Oilers Defeat Kings as Esa as 1-2-3 (Goals) : Hockey: Tikkanen’s hat trick powers Edmonton as it pulls away to a 5-2 victory.

Had it not been for the NHL strike, Esa Tikkanen might have been forced to watch the playoffs on television.

Now, because of Tikkanen, the Kings are in danger of being forced to watch the rest of the playoffs on television.

Tikkanen scored a hat trick Sunday night to hand the Kings a 5-2 loss at the Forum, giving the Oilers a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Smythe Division semifinal series between the two clubs.

Game 6 will be played Tuesday night in Edmonton.

The loss was surprising because:

The Kings had momentum.

The Kings had a 2-1 lead going into the final period.

The Kings had the home ice.

The Kings had a 44-25 edge in shots.

The Kings outshot the Oilers, 36-14, in the final two periods.

No matter. The Oilers had Tikkanen.

The Edmonton forward sat out 40 games because of a broken shoulder, but the additional time he received from the unscheduled 10-day strike break gave him the healing time he needed.

Tikkanen came back slowly. He didn’t even assume his old role as Gretzky’s shadow until Sunday.

But he scored two goals during the final period to break the game open. Bernie Nicholls added an open-net goal at the end.

Oiler Coach Ted Green said he believed it would inspire Tikkanen if he resumed his old spot in Gretzky’s face.

“Tik always works better when he has a mission,” Green said, “and he had a mission tonight.”

Tikkanen agreed.

“Everybody was waiting for me to score the big goals for the team,” he said, “and today was the big day.”

The Oilers broke a scoreless tie 47 seconds into the second period, Tikkanen scoring from above the right circle. His 45-foot shot sailed over goalie Kelly Hrudey’s left shoulder.

But Edmonton would not be heard from again during the period. They would get only three more shots during the second period, the Kings outshooting them by 19-4.

But the Kings didn’t get even until 4:02 of the period.

The scoring sequence began with Luc Robitaille banging the puck off the left post. It ricocheted behind Edmonton goalie Bill Ranford over to Gretzky, who was poised by the right post. Gretzky shoveled the puck back in, bouncing it off Ranford’s left skate and into the net.

The capacity crowd of 16,005, the Kings’ 74th consecutive sellout, was soon back on its feet, thinking the Kings had gone ahead. With Ranford losing his stick, Paul Coffey skated in from behind the net and tried to shove the puck past the Oiler goalie.

Ranford fell to the ice to protect the net and covered up as first Coffey and then a wave of Oilers collapsed on him.

It looked like a scene at a football goal line.

But neither the officials nor the video replay could prove that the puck had actually crossed the line.

There was no need for a replay at 18:23 of the period when Gretzky, shooting from the right circle, scored on a power play to push the Kings into a 2-1 lead. Ranford got a glove on the puck only to lose it, the puck bouncing across the goal line.

Edmonton’s Vincent Damphousse made the score 2-2 after 2:55 of the final period, scoring on a Joe Murphy pass.

The Kings thought they had broken the tie midway through the final period. Rob Blake’s shot from the point was deflected by Mike Donnelly toward the net. Ranford stopped the shot, but tumbled head over heels in doing so, the puck landing to his right, beyond his reach.

With Ranford flat on his back, Corey Millen skated in and shoved the puck across the goal line.

But his celebration was cut short when he learned that referee Bill McCreary had blown the whistle before Millen touched the puck, negating the goal.

“It was a . . . damn call,” King Coach Tom Webster said. “It was a damn shame to waste a game like this. But the series isn’t over. We’re going up to Edmonton and we’re going to win.

“We’ll be back. Believe me, we’ll be back.”

King Notes

King defenseman Larry Robinson, sidelined since Game 2 because of an ankle bruise, was honored between the first and second periods. The 40-year-old Robinson is retiring after 20 seasons. He received a gold watch from his teammates. The players’ wives gave Robinson’s wife, Jeannette, a ring with 19 diamonds, 19 being Robinson’s number.

Oiler defenseman Kevin Lowe returned after being sidelined since April 12 because of a groin pull. Since he couldn’t play anyway, Lowe used the time to have arthroscopic surgery on a shoulder. . . . It remains questionable whether Edmonton wings Craig Simpson and Anatoli Semenov, both out since Game 1 with shoulder injuries, will be back in this series, even if it should go seven games.

The Kings have surrendered 10 power-play goals to the Oilers. That is a new King record for one series. The old mark of eight was set in 1988 during a five-game series against the Calgary Flames. . . . King wing Luc Robitaille and Raider defensive lineman Greg Townsend are joining the Los Angeles Police Department in promoting a $150,000 anti-gang billboard campaign. A King and a Raider were picked because their uniforms are favored by gang members.

* PUCK STOPS HERE: Ranford’s work is overshadowed. C12