Submitted by admin on Fri, 2005-10-07 10:00. ::
Kings coach Andy Murray realized the mistake and even double-checked the rule book. Ever gracious, he planned to keep quiet unless Phoenix scored with Sjostrom on the ice, which would have nullified the goal.
But the Kings' stat crew noticed Sjostrom and alerted referees, who ruled Sjostrom ineligible for the rest of the game. Phoenix center Petr Nedved was the actual scratch, but he was listed as being available.
"It's my responsibility," he said. "It just was utter nonsense that it happened and I feel bad for Freddie and I feel bad for the team. It happened and it won't happen again."
Gretzky is 0-2 as a coach, losing to Vancouver and the Kings by identical 3-2 scores on consecutive nights. The Coyotes had a man advantage for most of the final minute, but didn't score.
"We didn't want to call it until we needed it," he said. "But unfortunately, the guys upstairs were doing their job and they realized they had the wrong guy."
As coach, Gretzky signs the lineup sheet before the game. Murray empathized with Gretzky, saying he has an assistant fill out the lineup and double-check it before he signs.
The sellout crowd of 18,118 cheered loudly when he was shown on the scoreboard late in the second period. He looked up, smiled and gave a brief wave as the song "Simply the Best" blared in Staples Center, where his retired No. 99 jersey hangs on the wall. A bronze statue of him stands outside the building, where he never played.
Gretzky spent eight seasons in Los Angeles, leading the Kings to the Stanley Cup finals in 1993 and surpassing Gordie Howe as hockey's all-time leading goal scorer at the old Forum in Inglewood.
Upon arriving from Edmonton in 1988, Gretzky popularized hockey in Southern California, which led to NHL teams in such other warm weather climates as Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. He was traded to St. Louis in 1996 and retired with the New York Rangers in 1999.
Michael Ryder scored his second goal of the game 2:10 into overtime, the second straight game he got the winner for Montreal. Ryder, who had Montreal's first goal Thursday, scored the winner Wednesday with 11 seconds remaining in a 2-1 victory at Boston.
The Rangers, who opened the season with a come-from-behind win at Philadelphia on Wednesday, salvaged one point when Dominic Moore tied it with 2:36 left in regulation.
Robert Lang had a goal and an assist, and Jason Williams had three assists for Detroit, which swept the season-opening home-and-home with St. Louis. The Red Wings, who won 5-1 at home on Wednesday, are 11-1-1 against the Blues since 2002-03.
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