Kings Are Full of Fight in 9-7 Loss to Winnipeg

The Kings are attempting to fight their way back to respectability in the National Hockey League. That much was clear during their 9-7 exhibition loss to the Winnipeg Jets before 6,134 fans at the Forum Friday night.

There were 35 penalties and several fights in a sloppy, fierce game that changed its tone at the beginning of the second period.

The first period was smooth and clean, but fights marred the action thereafter.

It looked for a while in the third period as if the Kings would be able to come back. They trailed, 7-5, after Hannu Jarvenpaa scored for Winnipeg at 2:19, but Morris Lukowich scored at 4:25 to pull the Kings within 7-6.

A gloves-on-the-ice fight slowed down the scoring but heated up the animosity among the players. There were scuffles the rest of the game.

Winnipeg’s Paul MacLean scored on a power play to make it 8-6, but Marcel Dionne also scored on a power play, hitting a shot that made it 8-7 at 16:24.

It was Dionne’s second goal of the night. Dave (Tiger) Williams and Lukowich also had two for the Kings.

The Jets scored the clincher as easy as you please at 17:43 when the Kings were short-handed and had pulled their goalkeeper. Thomas Steen scored from center ice on a faceoff as the puck glided into the unattended goal.

Power play inefficiency, which has long been a problem for the Kings, continued Friday night.

Bill Derlago, right wing for the Jets, scored at 2:31. With his team short-handed, Derlago circled in front of the goal and got a straight-ahead slapshot past King goaltender Roland Melanson. Mario Marois and Jim Kyte got assists.

The Kings, still in their power play, came back to tie the game with a goal at 2:50. Williams trickled a shot in on the left side in the midst of a commotion in front of the net.

After the relative calm of the first period, the second period broke like a storm.

The Kings scored first on a power play, with Williams again getting the goal off a rebound. On the ensuing faceoff, Brian Wilks and Laurie Boschman got into a fight, finally sprawling on the ice, locked together. After two officials pried them apart, Wilks skated to the penalty box, cheered loudly by the fans.

Derlago scored quickly after that as the Jets tied the game, 2-2, at 3:49. They scored 33 seconds later as Ron Wilson hit from the left side.

Wilson scored again at 7:30.

The Kings struck back with a short-handed goal at 7:30. It was one of the few plays involving teamwork the Kings were able to put together. Paul Guay scored off Lyle Phair’s pass to make it 4-3, Jets.