Kings Show Life Too Late in NHL Opener : Trailing, 6-2, They Score 3 Straight Goals but Lose to Vancouver, 6-5

The Kings trailed the Vancouver Canucks, 6-2, late in the third period of their National Hockey League opener Thursday night at the Forum when General Manager Rogie Vachon decided that he had seen enough.

Vachon left his seat in the press box and headed for his office. He wasn’t alone, as many in the crowd of 8,813 left early to beat the traffic.

“If I was Rogie, I wouldn’t be here either,” said a fan as he was walking down the stairs.

But the Kings, down by four goals when Vachon left, scored three straight times and almost pulled it out.

Center Marcel Dionne scored his first goal of the season with 5:09 left in the third period, and center Bernie Nicholls scored with 2:15 remaining.

The Kings called time out with 1:37 left and pulled goalie Bob Janecyk for an extra skater.

The move paid off when defenseman Craig Redmond scored an unassisted goal with 51 seconds left to close the gap to 6-5.

The Canucks immediately called a timeout to regroup. The Kings applied the pressure in the final minute, but Vancouver goalie Richard Brodeur turned back the Kings, and the Canucks held on for a 6-5 victory.

The Kings haven’t won an opener since 1980-81, when they beat the Detroit Red Wings, 8-1. The Kings have a record of 5-8-6 in season-opening games in their 19-year history.

“We got a little overconfident when we were winning, 6-2,” Brodeur said. “The Kings put in one more attacker and tried to crowd the net. They sent three guys to the net, and it worked because they got two goals on two straight shots. I never even saw the last one.”

King Coach Pat Quinn was disappointed with his team despite the late comeback.

“They beat us in all the fundamental areas,” Quinn said. “It certainly wasn’t what we had hoped for on opening night. We were a pack of individuals and they were all trying to save the ship.

“We had a chance to tie it up at the end but we probably didn’t deserve it.”

The Kings started fast, taking a 2-1 lead early in the second period on goals by left wing Dave (Tiger) Williams and right wing Dave Taylor.

Williams scored his 200th career goal when he got the first one of the game with 1:39 left in the first period. He put on a wild show, skating all the way to center ice on one leg with his stick held high.

“One of my dreams has always been to score the first goal of the season,” Williams said. “To be quite frank, I knew I was going to do it. Call is ESP. The fact that it was my 200th goal made it that much better.”

But the Canucks tied it just 24 seconds later when when center Brent Peterson scored with 1:15 left in the first period.

After Taylor gave the Kings a 2-1 lead 41 seconds into the second period, Vancouver scored five straight goals to take command of the game.

The Kings, who had seven power plays in the first two periods, seemed to lose something when they failed to score on the power plays.

Canuck left wing Taylor Hall, who had scored a total of two goals in 11 games over two seasons coming into the game, scored two goals and assisted on another by teammate Jean-Marc Lanthier.

Hall was originally credited with three goals, which would have given him his first NHL hat trick. However, he gave one of them away after the game when he went to the scorer and said that Lanthier should be given credit for a power-play goal that they had credited to Hall.

“I didn’t score it,” Hall said. “Lanthier scored it. I think they got confused when they made a change on another goal.”’

Hall missed all but seven games last season after he suffered torn ligaments in his left knee when he ran into a goalpost in a game against the New York Isladers. He had gotten off to a fast start by scoring one goal and four assists in his first six games last season.

“It was pretty scary when I ran into that goalpost,” Hall said. “I was in a cast for two months and then I had to rehabilitate myself.

“But I feel pretty good now. I got most of the muscle back in the leg.”

The Canucks, who finished last in the Smythe Division last season, are rebuilding under new Coach Tom Watt, who succeeded General Manager/Coach Harry Neale. Neale was fired at the end of the season.

“I’m happy with the two points,” Watt said. “I’m just pleased that we started the season on a winning note.”

Said Hall: “This is an unbelievable feeling,” Hall said. “The guys are more hungry this year. They want to win badly after the season we had last year.”

Steve Tambellini and defenseman Neil Belland also scored for the Canucks.

The Kings will play host to the four-time Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders Saturday night at the Forum.

King Notes Right wing Dave Taylor was selected as the Kings’ captain by Coach Pat Quinn. Taylor is the eighth captain in the Kings history, succeeding Terry Ruskowski, who signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the off-season. Center Marcel Dionne and defenseman Jay Wells were selected as alternate captains. “It didn’t take long at all to decide on our captain,” Quinn said. “It’s quite obvious from his acceptance by the players and the feeling that the coaches have, not only for his play on the ice, but for the way he conducts himself off the ice, that Dave Taylor was the easiest choice and the obvious one to make.” . . . King center Glen Currie and defenseman Mark Hardy missed the game because of injuries. Currie has a lower-back strain, and Hardy has a sprained wrist. Right wing Anders Hakansson missed the game because he had the flu. Quinn decided not to have rookie center Brian Wilks dress for the game. The Kings have 25 players, and only 20 may dress for a game under NHL rules.