Gretzky Gets Kings Win at Chicago

CHICAGO —  On the night that Wayne Gretzky passed another scoring milestone, piling up the kind of points only Gordie Howe and Marcel Dionne have scored in their careers, he saved his biggest smile for the moment that he was asked about the young goalie who made his debut for the Kings in a 5-3 victory over the Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium Sunday night.

Wait until 19-year-old Mark Fitzpatrick hears this.

“I hate to compare people, but there are only a few guys who have the same kind of talent--Ken Dryden, Ron Hextall, Grant Fuhr, and Fuhr’s the best who ever played the game,” Gretzky said. “Fitzpatrick has that talent. He’s talented, works hard and has a great attitude. I think he will be great.”

But, for now, Fitzpatrick will be back in goal for the New Haven Nighthawks, the Kings’ affiliate in the American Hockey League.

That was the game plan from the start, to let Fitzpatrick come up to play one game, get a taste of the NHL, show what he could do. And then return. That way there was no pressure to prove himself. No pressure. No rush.

But he seemed ready Sunday night, facing 37 shots and coming away with his first victory despite the tough initiation in front of 17,682 rowdy Blackhawk fans.

“I was a little nervous,” Fitzpatrick admitted. “That’s the largest arena I’ve ever played in and the fans were really screaming during the national anthem. It was really something. I just had to block out the noise and just play my game.

“That horn (after a Chicago goal) scared me the first time it went off. I had heard it on TV before, but I had no idea how loud it was here. Nobody warned me.”

But the horn blasted at him only 3 times.

“After a few shots, I settled down,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick was the Kings’ second-round pick in the entry draft of 1987. He had played against NHL players in exhibition games. But playing in his first regular NHL game--and winning it--made this, Fitzpatrick said: “The happiest moment of my life.”

Fitzpatrick said that he felt no disappointment at having to go back down. “They made it clear to me that I was coming up to play 1 game,” he said. “There was no pressure on me.”

Kings Coach Robbie Ftorek said that he would follow the original plan to send Fitzpatrick down, for now. Goalie Rollie Melanson, who sprained his left knee in the Kings’ first game, skipped this trip because the injury was not totally healed. Ftorek said that he had not heard hat Melanson’s status was. But he said that if another goalie was needed to back up Glenn Healy, it would not be Fitzpatrick.

He’ll be back eventually, Ftorek said. But Ftorek wasn’t saying when.

Gretzky’s best guess was that it might be soon.

Gretzky did his part to help the kid to victory, getting 2 goals and an assist. Gretzky’s assist, on the goal that Dave Taylor scored, at 5:22 in the first period, gave him his 1,700th NHL point.

“It’s always nice,” Gretzky said. “I don’t think you ever get used to that kind of thing. Anytime you reach a milestone like that, it’s nice.”

The Blackhawks tied the game when Steve Thomas scored from a rebound off Fitzpatrick’s pad.

In the second period, Marty McSorley took advantage of the moment when he found Chicago goalie Darren Pang out of position after coming out too far to his left. McSorley score in a wide open net.

Doug Wilson tied it for Chicago before Bernie Nicholls raced down the right side, beat the defense to open ice and slapped a shot in from the right circle.

So Pang was already on thin ice when Gretzky scored at 8:09 of the second period.

Gretzky picked up a loose puck from a fallen Blackhawk and skated in from behind the blue line, taking on Pang one-on-one, skittering down the ice feigning first one way and then the other until he was close enough for the kill. He was so convincing in his motion to the right that Pang made a dive to his left, and was sprawled in front of the net when Gretzky flipped the puck in to give the Kings a 4-2 lead.

After Gretzky’s goal, with 11:51 to play in the second period, Chicago Coach Mike Keenan pulled Pang and brought in his rookie goalie, Jimmy Waite.

Thomas scored his second goal of the game to to make it 4-3 at 1:55 of the third period.

But the one-goal lead held upfor the Kings. Fitzpatrick held up, despite the feverish attack the Blackhawks were waging on his net in the final minutes.

And Gretzky added a final goal, a power play goal, when he battled Denis Savard for the puck and won at mid-ice, then scored on the Blackhawks’ empty net.

The Kings concluded a 6-game trip with a victory over the Blackhawks, giving them a 4-2 record. “You have to be happy any time you win,” Gretzky said. “We’re 1 point out of first place. Winning 4 out of 6 isn’t bad, but I really thought we could have won 5 or 6.”

Kings Notes

The Kings will play their next 5 games at home starting with a game against Hartford Thursday night at the Forum. . . . The Kings’ consecutive game scoring streak is at 186. . . . The Kings’ victory Sunday night was their first victory at Chicago Stadium since December of 1983.