Kings Get Charitable, Lose : Hockey: After taking a 3-0 lead in the first period, Los Angeles ends up losing, 6-4.

The Kings are going to be giving away autographs and pucks tonight as part of a charity event.

Maybe they got their dates mixed up, because the charity began at home a night early when they gave the puck away in several crucial situations, leading to a 6-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks Saturday night.

The Canucks were led by Dan Quinn, who had a hat trick.

The Kings had taken a 3-0 lead. For most clubs, a 3-0 lead at home against the second-worst club in the NHL is cause to celebrate.

But the Kings are not playing like most clubs.

Defensively, they are not playing as well as any club in the Smythe Division. Even the last-place Canucks (19-36-10), have given up fewer goals than the Kings (27-30-6). The Canucks, still a dozen points behind the Kings, have given up 251 goals, the Kings 263.

Given is the perfect word to describe how the Kings surrendered the puck Saturday. Defenseman Larry Robinson was guilty of two third-period turnovers that led to scores.

“There’s no question Larry Robinson was at fault on the fifth goal,” co-interim coach Rick Wilson said, “but I felt we had played very solid to that point. It was a tough turnover, but there were lots of others ahead of him turning the puck over.

“We were our own worst enemy. . . . Tonight we got ahead and reverted to all the bad things we’ve done before.”

That was during a five-game losing streak the Kings hoped was just a bad memory after three consecutive victories. But all the old problems returned Saturday night in front of a sellout Forum crowd of 16,005.

The Kings’ first score came on Tomas Sandstrom’s 26th goal 1:26 into the game. It was also Sandstrom’s 400th lifetime point.

John Tonelli extended the Kings’ lead at 7:15 with his 25th goal.

The Kings looked as if they were in command when they added yet another first-period goal, Steve Duchesne scoring his 18th at 17:20.

Kings 3, Vancouver 0. For King fans, it looked like a highlight film. But it soon turned into a horror movie.

Vancouver began its comeback with a first-period goal just 35 seconds after Duchesne’s score.

Tim Watters knocked the puck off Trevor Linden’s stick, but Canuck teammate Steve Bozek gained control and clanged the puck in off the right post for his eighth goal.

The Canucks then tied the game with a pair of second-period goals just 39 seconds apart.

The first came on Quinn’s first goal of the night, the puck sailing into the net past McSorley, who had fallen to his knees at the edge of the crease. That was at 5:51.

Those sensing another Kings collapse didn’t have long to wait.

At 6:30 of the period, Igor Larionov, with Watters on his back, managed to get off a backhand shot. Kelly Hrudey blocked it, but couldn’t couldn’t stop the forehand that followed from Larionov, good for his 15th goal.

Then Robinson got charitable, leading to a pair of Vancouver goals.

On the first one, Dave Capuano gained control of the puck, charged the net, faked a forehand and then laid in a nice backhand under the glove of a diving Hrudey for his third goal of the season. That moved the Canucks into a 4-3 lead at 6:43 of the final period.

Robinson lost it again, attempting a pass at mid-ice. Quinn intercepted and scored on the breakaway at 11:27.

“He outguessed me,” Robinson said. “I probably shouldn’t have thrown it there. When things are not going your way, you almost have to be play perfect to win.”

The Kings made it close at 5-4 when Mike Krushelnyski scored his 11th goal from the left circle at 13:04.

But the Kings could get no closer.

Finally, with just six seconds to play and Hrudey pulled, Quinn completed his hat trick by shooting into an open net, his 22nd goal of the season and 13th since joining Vancouver as part of a six-player trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 8.

It was the Canucks’ first victory over the Kings this season. The Kings were 4-0-2 in their previous meetings.

King Notes

Coach Tom Webster, recovering from ear surgery, hopes to return to the team March 7, earlier than expected. . . . Battle of the Banners? The Lakers have monopolized most of the wall space at the Forum, what with six championship banners and the retired jerseys of Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain. All the Kings had was Rogie Vachon’s retired jersey. So when Wayne Gretzky was named Athlete of the Decade by a wire service, the Kings put up a banner heralding the award. A couple of weeks later, the Lakers responded with two new banners of their, one honoring Magic Johnson for being named Athlete of the Decade by a national magazine, the other for Pat Riley, named Coach of the ‘80s by a wire service. . . . Tonight is the annual Tip-A-King, benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The Kings will sign autographs and pose for pictures with the so-called tips going to charity. There will also be an auction of King memorabilia. There is a $30 admission charge for the event, to be held from 6 to 10 at MGM-Filmland, 10000 Washington Blvd., Culver City.