Dafoe’s 56 Saves Aren’t Enough to Keep Kings Happy in 2-2 Tie : Hockey: Petit complains about late penalty that leads to tying goal by Maple Leafs.

TORONTO —  Postgame fuming is becoming a standard King emotion only 10 games into the season. Call it futile fretting.

While King goaltender Byron Dafoe’s 56-save performance earned him the game’s No. 1 star Saturday in a 2-2 overtime tie against the Maple Leafs, referee Paul Stewart’s creative interpretation of King defenseman Michel Petit’s run-in with Toronto center Doug Gilmour should have earned him the top billing, according to Petit.

“That guy [Stewart] should take a look at the game instead of the crowd and not be a superstar. He should be the No. 1 star tonight,” Petit said.

Petit felt Stewart and Gilmour were trying to work the crowd of 15,746 at Maple Leaf Gardens. Stewart gave Petit a five-minute major and automatic game misconduct for butt-ending Gilmour at 11:14 of the third period, with the Kings holding a 2-1 lead. Toronto tied it on the ensuing power-play with forward Sergio Momesso batting in the puck out of the air in the crease off a centering pass from left wing Dave Andreychuk at 13:07.

“It’s a . . . joke,” Petit said. “That’s all I can say.”

Petit then said more.

“First of all, Doug Gilmour elbowed and slashed me in front of the net,” he said. “Then he skates and comes back at me. All I did was elbow him and pushed him away.

“It is a joke. It’s hard for me because I’m a team player. I take the blame. We’re winning and I get a call like that. It’s insane. He [Stewart] definitely tried to steal the show.”

The Kings (4-2-4) were especially upset because they felt it was a dubious call. And earlier, there was no penalty when Maple Leaf defenseman Jamie Macoun caught King left wing Eric Lacroix with a stick in the face. Lacroix’s right eye was puffy and he needed 25 stitches to close the facial wound.

Additionally, the Kings felt it was the second consecutive game of sub-par officiating. Oddly enough, Wayne Gretzky, who had his second goal of the season and added an assist, had started the week by criticizing the consistency of the crackdown on obstruction and interference.

“All they [the officials] can do is apologize,” King Coach Larry Robinson said. “They don’t give us our points back. But we’re leading the league in apologies.”

Still, the Kings easily could have lost their third consecutive game if it hadn’t been for the sharp play of Dafoe. Toronto opened with a dominating first period, outshooting the Kings, 16-3.

Dafoe, who was shaky Thursday in Ottawa and allowed a goal off a 120-foot shot, did not get much sleep after that miscue. He was relieved, however, to get back in the crease.

“I sure didn’t want to see that many shots, but it was sweet revenge from the other night,” he said. “Like I said, there are a lot of ups and downs and I’m glad I got to come back with an up. I guess they had a good scouting report on me . . . their first few shots were from outside the blue line.”

Said Robinson: “That’s what I wanted to see. He really rose to the challenge. I’m glad we’re cutting down on our shots against.”

The last time the Kings allowed 50 shots was on March 23, 1994 in a 6-3 loss to Vancouver.

Clearly, the Kings were playing like a tired team, considering this was the final game of a five-game, 10-day trip. After winning the first two games, the Kings were winless in the final three.

“We played like it was the last game of a trip,” Gretzky said. “But our goalie hung in there. He felt down from the other night and nobody said anything. He got the point for us. He was great.”