It’s as Easy as It Gets for Kings : Hockey: Los Angeles extends Quebec’s winless streak to 12 games with four goals in third period of 6-1 victory.

As a source of civic identity, the Quebec Nordiques represent one of the most picturesque cities in North America.

The Nordiques themselves, though, present a frightful sight.

That much was shown again Thursday night at the Forum, where Quebec lost to the Kings, 6-1, extending its winless streak to 12 games.

It has been a month since the Nordiques won a game.

They’re 0-9-3 since Nov. 22, when they beat the Hartford Whalers, 4-2, at Hartford, Conn., and don’t the Whalers fell silly now?

The Nordiques’ 6-24-5 record is the worst in the NHL and they’ve allowed more goals than any other team in the NHL while scoring fewer than all but the Detroit Red Wings, who have scored one fewer in one less game.

As if all that wasn’t bad enough, the Nordiques’ most recent loss was against a goaltender who is still on their payroll.

Mario Gosselin, signed by the Kings as a free agent last June after the Nordiques bought out his contract, stopped 29 shots before Mario Marois scored at 18:41 of the third period to spoil Gosselin’s shutout bid.

Gosselin, though, said he bears no ill will toward the Nordiques, who dumped in him favor of a pair of younger goaltenders.

“I didn’t feel I had anything to prove to those guys,” said Gosselin, 26, who has made 11 appearances as Kelly Hrudey’s backup. “I had to prove to the Kings that I can play and help the team win the championship.”

The Nordiques have made so many personnel changes, he said, that it didn’t feel as if hewere playing against former teammates.

“Still, it was a good feeling because we knew the game was on radio back home and mom was listening. I’m sure she’s happy right now and, just for that, it was a good game.”

Listening at home in Thetford Mines, Canada, Solange Gosselin must have been disappointed, though, when her son lost track of the puck after Marois’ shot bounced off his side. Gosselin reached back and, with his blocker, inadvertently swept the puck into the net.

Said Gosselin: “I scored the goal.”

And ruined the shutout, too, but Gosselin didn’t mind.

“A shutout is no big deal, as long as you win,” he said. “It’s no big deal to give up a goal with a minute left when you’re winning, 6-0.”

Six players scored goals for the Kings, who turned a close game into a rout by scoring four goals in the third period, including the 28th of the season by Luc Robitaille and the 25th by Bernie Nicholls.

Even more impressive to Gosselin, though, was the Kings’ defense.

“No three-on-twos, no two-on-ones,” said the appreciative goaltender.

Defenseman Larry Robinson put the Kings ahead to stay only 3 minutes 36 seconds into the game, scoring on a shot from the top of the left circle.

Wayne Gretzky set up the play, charging down the left wing with the puck and winding up as if to shoot before leaving a drop pass just outside the circle for Robinson, whose 35-foot shot beat goaltender Ron Tugnutt to the far side and gave Robinson his fourth goal of the season.

At 17:38, Steve Kasper made it 2-0, taking a pass from defenseman Steve Duchesne and, with Nordique defenseman Bryan Fogarty hanging back to pick up Keith Crowder on the left wing, scoring from the right circle.

Gosselin stopped all seven first-period shots by the Nordiques and the period ended with the Nordiques trailing, 2-0, which was nothing unusual. They’ve been outscored in the first period this season, 62-28.

The score remained the same through the second period, which was more bad news for the Nordiques, who are 0-22-1 when trailing after two periods.

It could have been worse for the Nordiques.

About seven minutes into the period, a shot from the slot by Robinson caromed off the right post and slid through the crease. Less than six minutes later, Kasper broke free on a breakaway while the Kings were short-handed, only to have his shot from close range stopped by Tugnutt.

Also, the Nordiques killed two penalties, limiting the NHL’s most efficient power-play unit to one shot in its first manpower advantage.

Gosselin, meanwhile, faced nine second-period shots.

Then, only 1:28 into the third period, John Tonelli gave the Kings a 3-0 lead, positioning himself just outside the crease on the left side of the net and redirecting a pass from Crowder past the fallen Tugnutt.

Nicholls, alone in the slot, made it 4-0 at 10:30, redirecting a long shot by Robinson through Tugnutt’s legs for his 25th goal.

At 12:10, Gretzky scored his 18th goal off a feed from the slot by Mike Krushelnyski, who took a pass from Tonelli after Tonelli dug the puck out of the right corner.

Robitaille had a hand in the onslaught at 13:05, backhanding a shot past Tugnutt, who was immediately summoned to the bench by Coach Michel Bergeron. Tugnutt was replaced by Mario Brunetta for the last 6:55.

King Notes

Guy Lafleur of the Nordiques, who has eight goals and eight assists in 19 games, has not played since Nov. 14, when he bruised his left ankle, and the Nordiques are 1-12-4 in his absence. Lafleur, 38, is expected to return Saturday night, when the Nordiques play the Buffalo Sabres at Quebec City. . . . Peter Stastny, the Nordiques’ No. 2 scorer, injured a knee in a game at Edmonton last week and returned to Quebec City. . . . The Kings led the NHL in power-play efficiency going into Thursday night’s game, converting 26.6% of their manpower advantages. They ranked 16th in penalty killing.