35 Yrs Ago: The One When Bernie Nicholls rallied the Kings to an 8-8 tie

For Bernie Nicholls, one of the great things about sports is that it's never over until it's over. And if anyone would know that, it's him. In 1982, Nicholls and the Kings were down 5-0 heading into the third period in the third game of their opening-round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers.
We all know how that story ended. LA scored five straight goals in the final frame to force overtime and then Daryl Evans scored the game-winner just over two minutes into the extra period to complete an incredible comeback that has been immortalized as the "Miracle on Manchester." The Kings went on to win the series, pulling off one of the greatest upsets in NHL history.

Just over four years later, Nicholls and the Kings looked to be on the wrong side of another lopsided loss to the Oilers. Early into the third period of a game at the Northlands Coliseum on December 20, 1986, LA trailed the Oilers by four goals.
Edmonton was gunning for its seventh straight victory and it seemed like they would handily accomplish that feat. But just halfway through the final period, Nicholls scored his 13th goal of the season to cut the deficit to three. Following a massive check, laid by Kings defenseman Jay Wells, the comeback was on. Less than five minutes later, following a pair of quick goals by Morris Lukowich and Marcel Dionne, the Kings were within one.
And then, with just 34 seconds remaining in regulation, Nicholls scored again to force overtime. Although neither team scored in sudden death, for the Kings it felt like a victory.
"For us it was a win and to them it was a loss and that's the way they take it," Nicholls, who still holds the franchise record for most goals in a season with 70, recalled recently in a telephone interview.
What made it even better for him and the Kings was that they snatched what felt like a victory on the road.
"I try to tell people different times that as much fun as it is to win at home there's nothing better than going into a building, especially coming back like that. Once you get the momentum going it is so rewarding," Nicholls said. "They get a sour taste in their mouth even though they tied but to them it's a big-time loss, and to us it's a huge win."

Following the game, then rookie forward Luc Robitaille, who would go on to score 45 goals that season and win the Calder Trophy as the league's top first-year player, was quoted in the Edmonton Journal saying that he thought the Oilers were laughing at them as time ticked off the clock.
Whether or not their opponents were actually mocking them, Nicholls has no doubt that the Oilers were indeed probably having a chuckle at the expense of LA's performance.
"Oh they would be laughing the whole time because they were a cocky team and rightly so, they were great," he said. "By '86 they had won two in a row. They were in the middle of winning four Cups in five years, so they were so good. So young, so good. And they were cocky as hell and rightly so."
Nicholls credits Oilers coach Glen Sather for the team's attitude. "Their coach was, I don't want to say sarcastic because I loved Glen, but he was so confident," he said. "They would be joking and having fun and so would the coach, they were a reflection of the coach. And that's how Glen was."
But, of course, in this instance, the Kings got the last laugh.
"It was a win for us and definitely a loss for them, especially at home," Nicholls said. "We were taking the crowd out of the game, so obviously that was a lot of fun for us."
Although the Kings came back to tie it, it could have easily gone the other way.
"As a team and as players, you like to think you can win every game but when you played the Oilers in the '80s, there was a good chance you weren't going to win," Nicholls said.
Before the Kings went out for the third period that night trailing by three goals, Nicholls doesn't remember head coach Pat Quinn saying much in the dressing room.
"You can imagine the coach, but there's not much of a speech he's going to give us because he knows we're not winning anyway," he said. "It's not like the speech Herb Brooks gave the 1980 boys. He didn't think they could win either but you give that speech because if you get that momentum going you just never know."
And that's the greatest thing about sports, you just never know.