3 by Taylor Help Bedevil Devils, 6-3

Right wing Dave Taylor of the Kings has been hampered by wrist injuries for the last two seasons.

Taylor sat out the first 16 games of the 1983-84 season while recovering from a broken right wrist. He had missed 33 games the previous season with the same injury.

However, Taylor is healthy this season and is on a roll. “I’ve had some problems over the last two years, but I feel fine now,” he said.

Taylor scored three goals to lead the Kings to their second consecutive win, a 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils Tuesday night in front of 10,224 fans at the Forum.

It was the second time this season that Taylor has scored three goals in one game and it was his sixth career hat trick.

The Devils have never beaten the Kings in Los Angeles. Over the years, the team that has been based in Kansas City, Colorado and New Jersey is 19-0-4 against the Kings.

“I wasn’t aware that the Devils have never won here until I read the press notes before the game,” first-year New Jersey Coach Doug Carpenter said. “I don’t think it’s anything psychological.”

Taylor scored his first goal in a scramble in front of the net in the first period when he rebounded a shot by Marcel Dionne. Then he scored two goals in a 14-second span of the second period to break a 2-2 tie.

Dionne assisted on all three of Taylor’s goals. Linemate Brian MacLellan had two assists.

“Taylor and Dionne play well together,” Carpenter said. “They sure turned the game around tonight.”

Center Bernie Nicholls scored his 30th goal of the season and also assisted on a first-period goal by Steve Shutt.

The Kings are the only team in the National Hockey League this season with three 30-goal scorers. Dionne and Taylor also have 30 goals apiece.

Wing John Paul Kelley had the Kings’ other goal, scoring with 34 seconds left in the second period.

King Coach Pat Quinn said that Taylor’s second goal was the turning point in the game.

“It was a great play by him,” Quinn said. “He crashed the middle and picked up Marcel’s rebound. It was the type of play that Dave Taylor has made so many times for us this season. And it picked up the team.”

Taylor credited MacLellan and Dionne for setting up his tiebreaking goal.

“It was a good play by Brian,” Taylor said. “He hit Marcel on the far wing, and Marcel shot it. I was able to get my stick on it before I bumped into the goaltender.

“Marcel made a nice play on my next goal when he gave me a nice, hard pass. When you get two quick goals like that, it deflates a team.”

On his third goal, Taylor put the puck through the legs of Devil goalie Hannu Kamppuri. Kamppuri was pulled after giving up five goals on 19 shots in the first two periods.

Said Kamppuri: “I just had a cramp in the back of my left leg, and they felt that they didn’t want me to play anymore on it.”

Taylor has been on a hot streak lately, scoring 11 goals in his last eight games.

“Things have been going well lately,” Taylor said. “I’ve been going to the net and getting a lot of opportunities to score because Marcel and Brian MacLellan are playing well.

“I’d like to play all 80 games. I’ve never done that before. I think I can score 40 goals if I’m healthy.”

Goalie Bob Janecyk also played well for the second consecutive game, making 23 saves.

Janecyk had been alternating starts with Darren Eliot, but Quinn said that he will probably start Janecyk again Thursday night against Hartford at the Forum.

“He (Janecyk) won the other night. . . .,” Quinn said. “At this stage I’ve decided that it’s better to get away from our rotation.”

The Devils were in the game in the first period. They fought back twice, and the score was tied, 2-2, going into the second period.

Shutt gave the Kings a 1-0 lead at 5:14 of the game when he scored his 13th goal of the season, this one off a pass from Nicholls.

However, the Devils tied it at 1-1 when defenseman Joe Cirella scored an unassisted goal with 11:26 left in the first period.

Just 33 seconds later, Taylor scored his first goal to put the Kings up, 2-1.

But center Rick Meagher beat Janecyk on a breakaway with 6:29 left to tie the score.

The Kings had only four shots in the first 16 minutes of the second period. But they took command of the game by scoring three goals in the final 3 1/2 minutes of the period to take a 5-2 lead.

The Devils (15-28-5), who are in last place in the Patrick Division, are winless in their last six games (0-5-1).

The Kings (21-20-9) picked up two points on second-place Calgary, which they trail by six points in the Smythe Division, and picked up one point on the third-place Winnipeg Jets, which they trail by four.