Blackhawks Win on Fight Night, 6-3

It was fight night at the Forum when the Kings played the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday night before 11,840 fans.

The main event matched King left wing Dave (Tiger) Williams against Chicago goalie Bob Sauve inside the net in the second period. Both were ejected along with Chicago defenseman Bob Murray, who was the third man in the brawl.

When the Blackhawks weren’t fighting they played some pretty good hockey.

Chicago came back from a 3-2 second-period deficit with four straight goals, including an empty-netter, to beat the Kings, 6-3.

The Kings, who have lost five straight home games, failed to win at the Forum in February. Their last victory here was over Minnesota, 4-3, on Jan. 29.

With Chicago trailing 3-2, right wing Ed Olczyk scored consecutive goals in the second period to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 lead going into the third period.

You may recall, Olczyk could have been a King. The Kings swaped first-round draft picks with the Blackhawks in 1984 in order to acquire goalie Bob Janecyk. The Blackhawks, drafting third with the Kings’ pick, took Olczyk, and the Kings, drafting sixth, took defenseman Craig Redmond.

The Blackhawks had spent Monday and Tuesday in Las Vegas and they looked sluggish at the start of the game because of the layoff.

Said Olczyk: “We wanted to play well tonight because we were in Las Vegas for a couple of days. We had played 9 games in 16 days, so they gave us a couple of days off. They gave us that gift, and we wanted to pay them back. We didn’t skate for a couple of days, and I think we were sluggish.�

Center Troy Murray, who had three goals and two assists, scored his second goal on a breakaway just 42 seconds into the third period to give Chicago a two-goal lead. Murray scored Chicago’s first goal of the game on a power play on the Blackhawks’ first shot and scored an empty-net goal with 37 seconds left in the game. He also assisted on Olczyk’s two goals.

Murray has scored 41 goals this season. Center Denis Savard, who also has 41, scored Chicago’s other goal.

“They don’t worry about me because we’ve got a guy like Denis Savard,� Murray said. “When you’ve got a Denis Sevard, they worry about me. They play their best defensive players against Denis Savard’s line.

“I’m not competing against Denis by any means. It’s nice to score as many goals as you can.�

The Kings, who started fast but finished slowly, wasted leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2.

King center Marcel Dionne had a goal and an assist. He needs just seven points to pass Phil Esposito and become the second leading scorer of all time in the National Hockey League behind Gordie Howe.

Defenseman Jay Wells had three assists to tie a career high for most points in one game.

Center Bernie Nicholls and right wing Dave Taylor also scored for the Kings. Nicholls, who scored just 19 seconds into the game, got his 30th goal of the season--the third consecutive time he has reached the 30-goal mark. Taylor scored on the Kings’ first shot of the second period.

The fight between Williams and Sauve was a wild one.

Williams, going for a rebound, hit the crossbar with his head and got tangled up with Sauve in the nets.

They traded punches, and Bob Murray came to Sauve’s rescue, blindsiding Williams. Then almost everyone got into the act, including King goalie Roland Melanson, who was penalized for leaving the crease. The ice was littered with gloves, slicks and helmets.

After the officials had seemed to restore order, Williams threw another punch at Sauve as they were being led to the dressing rooms.

Williams and Sauve each received two minutes for roughing, five minutes for fighting, 10-minute misconducts and game misconducts. Bob Murray also received a game misconduct for being the third man in he fight.

Williams was not available for comment. He left the Forum before reporters entered the King dressing room.

Said Sauve: “I made a save on one of their players, and Tiger hit the post on the rebound. He just kept going at me. He kneed me in the face. I was lying on top of him, and that’s when I took a shot at him.�

Asked what happened when they resumed the fight after they had been separated by the linesmen, Sauve said: “I told the referee, ‘Let’s go,’ and Tiger got around and started coming at me. The linesmen didn’t have hold of him.

“I’ve never been in a real fight before. I’ve been hit by Tiger several times. Tiger likes to hit goalies. It’s tough. I didn’t feel too well before the game anyway. I was exhausted, and I don’t know how those guys who fight a lot do it.�

Sauve was replaced by goalie Murray Bannerman, and Bannerman held the Kings scoreless on eight shots.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a goaltender thrown out,� Chicaco Coach Bob Pulford said.