Canucks Beat Up Kings Again, 8-3 : Going Nowhere, Vancouver Takes It Out on Favorite Patsy

Playing the Kings is always such an ego boost for Vancouver that undoubtedly the Canucks must wish for more than eight meetings a season with their Smythe Division rivals.

Vancouver’s usual dominance of the Kings was aided Wednesday night by the Kings’ disinterested, lackluster play in front of 8,161 fans in the Forum.

Long before the Canucks’ 8-3 victory over the Kings was over, most of the fans had left. Those who chose to stay must have been hanging around to watch the fighting escalate.

Both teams obliged. This was the kind of brawling game that the King-Canuck series has come to represent. There were 132 penalty minutes assessed. The most penalty minutes in a King game this season is 158--against Vancouver on Nov. 26.

“I think our team lacked intensity from a mental standpoint,” King Coach Mike Murphy said. “It was not a good game on our part.”

The Kings (31-39-8) managed just 20 shots on goal, whereas Vancouver bombed two King goaltenders with 49 shots, the most the Kings have allowed this season.

The Canucks (27-43-8) are 4-2-1 against the Kings this season.

It was a nightmare for the King goaltenders. They are, however, accustomed to this style of game when the Kings play the Canucks.

The last meeting was a rather pedestrian 5-2 King win. Wednesday night’s game, however, was reminiscent of Vancouver’s 11-5 win on Nov. 25 at Vancouver.

In that game, Rollie Melanson started in goal for the Kings. He allowed four goals in 1 1/2 periods and was replaced by Darren Eliot. Eliot allowed seven goals before Melanson went back in.

Four King veterans were not dressed Wednesday night. Bob Bourne, Dave Taylor, Jim Fox and Jay Wells sat out because of nagging injuries.

“We didn’t have some guys with us tonight,” King defenseman Tom Laidlaw said. “We have to blame ourselves--the guys that suited up. We weren’t mentally prepared to play the game.”

The Kings skated poorly in the first period. Symptomatic of the Kings’ malaise were the shots on goal: The Kings had six shots on goal in the first period and the Canucks had 22, the most the Kings have allowed in a period this season.

From the start, the Kings seemed uninvolved. It was the Canucks who were racing to the puck and scrapping on the boards. That aggression, and the Kings’ growing frustration, would lead to a handful of fights and numerous penalties.

The Canucks jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Stan Smyl and Raimo Summanen. By the 7:20 mark, the Canucks had their two-goal lead and the Kings had fired just two shots.

Bryan Erickson scored on a pass from Paul Guay to put the Kings on the board at 9:09. They tied it on a power play at 10:55, when Bernie Nicholls, sliding on one knee, punched a shot past goaltender Frank Caprice.

Patrik Sundstrom subsequently scored to give the Canucks a 3-2 lead, and Brent Peterson’s power-play goal at 17:37 restored Vancouver’s two-goal lead by the end of the first period.

Melanson, who didn’t receive much help from his defensemen, was pulled and Eliot replaced him in the second period. Eliot was starting his first game since Feb. 4. It was an ugly welcome back.

The Canucks scored three goals in the period, while the Kings managed one. Vancouver continued to monopolize the puck by outshooting the Kings, 17-7, in the period.

Luc Robitaille got a power-play goal at 2:49 of the period to bring the Kings to within one goal. But Vancouver scored two power-play goals of their own.

Tony Tanti and Rich Sutter scored for Vancouver, and Dave Lowry’s goal at 16:12 made it 7-3 at the end of the period.

David Bruce’s goal at 4:21 in the third completed the scoring.

King Notes

Left winger Craig Duncanson played in his first game since being recalled from the Ontario Hockey League. Duncanson had 67 points in 52 games with the Cornwall Royals. . . . Defenseman Dave Langevin, who underwent arthroscopic surgery to his knee March 13, is back skating with the team. He’s expected to be ready for the playoffs.