Kings Winners in a Wild One, 9-7 : Canucks Trail, 5-0, Close to 6-5--Suddenly, It’s 7-7 . . .

The Kings almost self-destructed but recovered to pull out a 9-7 win over the Vancouver Canucks Friday night before 9,444 fans at the Pacific Coliseum.

Defenseman Mark Hardy scored the winning goal with 3:39 left in the third period off a pass from right wing Dave Taylor to break a 7-7 tie. Then center Marcel Dionne added an empty-net goal, the Kings’ first of the season, with 14 seconds remaining, after the Canucks had pulled goalie Wendell Young for an extra skater.

“It was a nightmare, but at least we won it,” said Dionne, who had two goals.

It started out more like a dream. The Kings led, 5-0, on only eight shots at the end of the first period as they chased Vancouver goalie Richard Brodeur. Young came in at the start of the second period.

It looked as if the Kings were going to have a rare easy game and embarrass the struggling Canucks. Instead, they embarrassed themselves in the second period as the Canucks outscored them, 5-1, cutting the score to 6-5 going into the third period.

The Canucks opened the second period with three consecutive power-play goals, including one on a five-minute opportunity after King center Doug Smith was penalized for high sticking. The Canucks also scored off a five-on-three power play.

“I don’t think we quit,” Hardy said. “We seemed to be killing penalties the entire second period.”

At times in that period, the Kings played as if they were in a hurry to catch their charter flight back home.

“It was a wild and woolly game,” King Coach Pat Quinn said. “It was two separate games. We seemed to have a hot stick in the first period, and anything we shot was going in.

“We were trying to play it safe in the second period, but certainly, the penalties had a lot to do with it.

“It looked like whoever had the last shot was going to win.”

Vancouver outshot the Kings, 21-4, in the second period, during which center Steve Tambellini had two Canuck goals and defenseman Rick Lanz, center Patrik Sundstrom and right wing Tony Tanti scored on power plays. The only King reply in the period was a goal by Grant Ledyard.

“We got blown out so badly in the first period that we said we had to start the second period like it was a new game,” Tambellini said. “We had a two-man advantage on the power play, and that’s what got us going.”

King captain Taylor scored his 16th goal of the season at 5:56 of the third period to give his team a 7-5 lead.

However, the Canucks scored twice to tie it at 7-7.

Petri Skriko got his 22nd goal of the season off a face-off with 7:17 left in the third period, and Stan Smyl scored a shorthanded goal on a rebound of a shot by Tanti to tie it with 4:27 remaining in the game.

However, Hardy scored less than a minute later to give the Kings the lead again off a nice pass from Taylor.

“David made a heck of a play on the goal,” Hardy said of Taylor. “He was tripped by one of their defenseman, but as he was falling, he gave me the puck, and the two guys on him left me alone.

And this time, the Kings didn’t blow the lead.

The Canucks are now winless in their last nine games, going 0-8-1 in that span.

The Kings (14-24-5) moved out of a fourth-place Smythe Division tie with the Canucks (13-27-5) and are now alone with 33 points, two behind the third-place Winnipeg Jets. However, the Kings have played three fewer games than Winnipeg and two fewer than Vancouver.

The Kings play the Canucks again tonight at the Forum.

Nicholls had four assists, including three in the first period; right wing Jim Fox had three, and Taylor had two.

Left wing Morris Lukowich, defensemen Jay Wells and Brian Engblom and left wing Joe Paterson also scored for the Kings. In addition, Paterson had an assist and was involved in two of the five fights in the game.

King Notes Defenseman Rick LaPointe, who was suspended by the Kings last week for failing to report to their minor league team in New Haven, Conn., attended the game. LaPointe moved back home to Victoria, Canada. . . . Goalie Roland Melanson, right wing Phil Sykes and center Len Hachborn missed the game because of groin injuries.