KINGS NOTEBOOK: KINGS READY TO BID FORUM ADIEU.Byline: Roger Phillips It never had the heritage of Maple Leaf Gardens
. It never had the grandeur of the old Montreal Old Montreal (or Vieux-Montréal in French) is the oldest area in the Canadian city of Montreal, dating back to colonial times. Located in the borough of Ville-Marie, the area is usually thought of as being bounded to the west by McGill St. Forum. And it never had the history of grand old hockey palaces such as Boston Garden, Chicago Stadium , the Detroit Olympia and the old Madison Square Garden Current arenas in the National Hockey League Western Conference Eastern Conference . But for the Kings, who will play what almost certainly will be their final regular-season game there today against the St. Louis Blues, the Forum has been home. And as the Kings prepare to move next season to the palatial pa·la·tial adj. 1. Of or suitable for a palace: palatial furnishings. 2. Of the nature of a palace, as in spaciousness or ornateness: a palatial yacht. Staples Center, there are few tears in the organization for the building that is about to be vacated. ``I don't think this building conjures up the same images for the Kings that Maple Leaf Gardens did for Toronto,'' Kings president Tim Leiweke said. ``I'll miss this building, but probably only for a week or two.'' Kings general manager Dave Taylor has spent his entire 22-year professional life at the Forum, but when asked his feelings about closing its doors, he said, ``I'm looking forward to Staples Center. The Forum has been a good home, but it's time to move on. I'm not overly sentimental.'' In 1,314 regular-season and playoff games at the Forum, the Kings are 622-511-181. And while they never won a Stanley Cup, they did have their moments. From the early to late 1970s, the Forum was home to teams backstopped by Rogie Vachon. From the late 1970s to the middle 1980s, Marcel Dionne's high-scoring teams moved in. And the Forum was the home from 1988-96 for the legendary Wayne Gretzky, who coincidentally concludes his NHL NHL Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, see there run today in New York Today in New York is WNBC-TV's pre-Today newscast, also post-Today on weekends, airing from 5 AM to 7 AM weekdays with the local news cut ins being branded as such. . There was Butch Goring's overtime goal that forced a seventh playoff game in 1976 against Boston. There was the ``Miracle on Manchester'' six years later in which the Kings rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat a young Edmonton Oilers team in a first-round game on an overtime goal by Daryl Evans. There was Mike Krushelnyski's double-overtime series-clincher against Calgary in 1990. There was the epic run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993. And a year later, there was Gretzky scoring the record 802nd goal of his NHL career. The Kings are expected to play a couple of preseason games at the Forum next season, which is why today's closing ceremonies at the building will be minimal. The Kings also have reserved early-season dates at the Forum next season, just in case the Staples Center isn't ready in time. ``You honor the tradition, the past, the great moments that occurred here,'' Leiweke said of the Forum. ``But I think the new building will be great for the Kings, the Lakers, the Clippers and the city of Los Angeles
KINGS vs. ST. LOUIS Time: Noon, at the Forum. TV/Radio: None; KRLA-AM (1110). Tickets: About 1,000 remain (1-888-KINGS-LA). Matchup: The Kings, who have won three in a row since being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention last Sunday in Dallas, will try to close the season with a victory in a game that is meaningless to both teams. It won't be easy. Including last season's playoffs, the Kings are 0-11-2 against the Blues in the past 13 meetings. - Roger Phillips CAPTION(S): Box Box: KINGS vs. ST. LOUIS (See text) |
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