Kurri’s 2 Goals Help the Oilers Stop Kings, 8-4

The Edmonton Oilers are the hottest team in hockey.

Right wing Jari Kurri scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Oilers to an 8-4 win over the Kings Tuesday night before 10,398 fans at the Forum.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Oilers are unbeaten in their last nine games with seven wins and two ties. They have an 18-4-3 overall record, the best mark in the National Hockey League this season ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers (19-6-0), who were beaten by Detroit Tuesday night. The Oilers have 39 points, and the Flyers have 38.

Center Wayne Gretzky, who has led the league in scoring for the past five seasons, extended his streak to 15 straight games when he assisted on a first-period goal by defenseman Paul Coffey. Gretzky has 13 goals and 17 assists during his streak, the longest in the NHL this season. He leads the league in scoring with 18 goals and 36 assists in 25 games.

“People have been knocking our hockey club all season and saying that we haven’t been playing well,” Gretzky said. “We had a big incentive to win when we saw that the Flyers had lost because we wanted to have the best record in the league.”

Edmonton goalie Grant Fuhr, playing in his second game after missing out 10 games with a shoulder injury earlier this season, played well, making 27 saves.

The Kings played Edmonton even for two periods, only to have the Oilers explode for five third-period goals against goalie Bob Janecyk.

Janecyk was playing in his first game in almost two weeks after serving a five-game NHL-imposed suspension for a stick-swinging incident with center Peter Zezel of Philadelphia in a game last month.

“They stormed us in the third period,” Janecyk said. “We played well for two periods, but we started running around on defense in the third period.”

Trailing 3-2 late in the second period, the Kings tied it at 3-3 with 30 seconds left on a goal by Dave Taylor off a pass from Marcel Dionne. Dionne also had a second-period goal. The Kings had had a goal by defenseman Craig Redmond disallowed with 3:15 left in the period because of a hooking penalty on Dionne.

“We played well for two periods,” Taylor said. “But we were looking for that first goal in the third period, and when we didn’t get it, it seemed like we died down.”

The Kings got a standing ovation when they went into the locker room at the end of the second period.

“We stayed close and our guys played well,” King Coach Pat Quinn said. “But we didn’t take control in the third period.”

The Oilers outscored the Kings, 5-1, in the final 20 minutes.

The Kings (5-16-3) are winless in their last five games. They also have the worst home record in the NHL this season, 2-10-2.

Asked what he said to his team during the second-period intermission, Edmonton Coach and General Manager Glen Sather said: “I didn’t say anything. We didn’t play smart in the second period and I think the team realized it. They just came out and played like they’re capable of playing.”

Edmonton took a 4-3 lead with 16:47 left in the third period when center Craig MacTavish scored after a pass from left-wing Mike Krushelnyski. MacTavish, who had three goals and one assist in his last game, has 11 goals and 8 assists in 25 games this season.

MacTavish was signed by the Oilers last spring while he was still in jail just outside Boston serving a one-year sentence for vehicular manslaughter. While playing for the Boston Bruins in January, 1984, he was involved in an accident which resulted in a woman’s death. He was released last May.

MacTavish’s linemates also played well. Right-wing Mark Napier had one goal and one assist and Krushelnyski had an assist.

“You saw MacTavish’s line taking charge,” Sather said. “To challenge for the Stanley Cup you can’t make it with just one line.”

Said MacTavish: “We let them back in the game at the end of the second period and we came in here pumped up for the third.”

Kurri scored his second goal with 14:36 left in the game on a rebound of his own shot to make it 5-3.

“We were standing around in the second period,” Kurri said. “We had a big meeting after the second period.”

But the Kings closed it to 5-4 with 11:17 left when J.P. Kelly scored his first goal of the season.

The Oilers scored less than a minute later, however, when Napier got his seventh goal of the season with 10:38 left. Napier also had an assist on a second-period goal by Randy Gregg.

Defenseman Marty McSorley scored his first goal of the season with 6:33 left in the third period to make it 7-4.

The Oilers’ final goal came with 4:52 left when Dave Hunter got his fifth of the season.