NEW JERSEY VS. PITTSBURGH COLORADO VS. ST. LOUIS

Monday, June 4 Gretzky makes Kings royalty By Joy Russo ESPN.com No one is free of criticism, even Wayne Gretzky. Whether it was he was too slow or too small or worn down, Gretzky heard it. But the greatest hockey player had uncanny timing for elevating his game that much more in response to the doubters. Kings 4, Leafs 3 Date Result Goalie 5/17 Leafs 4, Kings 1 Potvin 5/19 Kings 3, Leafs 2 Hrudey 5/21 Kings 4, Leafs 2 Hrudey 5/23 Leafs 4, Kings 2 Potvin 5/25 Leafs 3, Kings 2 Potvin 5/27 Kings 5, Leafs 4 Hrudey 5/29 Kings 5, Leafs 4 Hrudey The 1993 Campbell Conference finals was a perfect example. Gretzky's team, the Los Angeles Kings, were one of the postseason's Cinderella teams. Los Angeles had trailed in its playoff opener 2-1 before coming back and upsetting the Flames in six games. Then, behind the Big Three of Gretzky, Luc Robitaille and Tomas Sandstrom, the Kings earned their conference finals berth with a six-game ousting of the Canucks. The Kings would play the Maple Leafs, who had a powerful run of their own in the works. Toronto upset second-place, 100-point-plus Detroit in a seven-game opener, and needed another seven to get past St. Louis. In the Campbell final, Toronto and Los Angeles split the first four games with the Leafs outscoring the Kings 13-9. Then, the teams worked overtime. Glenn Anderson, the former Oiler great and teammate of Gretzky's in Edmonton, scored with 40 seconds left in overtime to give Toronto the series edge in Game 5. In Game 6, the Great One struck back and scored at 1:41 of the extra session to send the series back to Toronto. Before the decisive game, a reporter wrote that Gretzky looked like he was skating "as if he had a piano on his back." It was all the motivation he needed. The turnaround Maple Leaf Gardens was understandably a madhouse on May 29, but the home-ice advantage was quickly taken away by No. 99. Gretzky scored a hat trick and added an assist to boot, and Kelly Hrudey was outstanding in net, to lead the Kings to a 5-4 win and their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals. The Great One scored the game-winner in the third, one goal bounced off the back of Dave Ellett's leg and past Felix Potvin. Lucky bounce? No, pure Gretzky. The MVP Silly question. Simply Gretzky. After missing the first 39 games of the regular season with a herniated disc, the Great One rebounded and led the league in playoff scoring with 15 goals and 25 assists. Gretzky turned in one of the most clutch performances of his career in Game 7 – the game No. 99 still calls the best of his 21-year career. Joy Russo is a staff editor for ESPN.com Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories