Duchesne Scores Twice to Lead Kings Over Soviets

It wasn’t exactly the miracle on ice.

Nor the Miracle on Manchester.

Once upon a time, a hockey victory over the Soviet Union, any victory, was a moment to savor.

But that was back when the cold war on ice mirrored the Cold War in the halls of government.

In the era of glasnost the warming of relations has meant a cooling in the heated rivalry.

So the Kings’ 5-1 exhibition victory over Khimik Voskresensk Monday night at the Forum didn’t have the drama it might have had a few years ago.

Or the crowd.

It was announced as 10,762, although it appeared smaller, for the start of Super Series 1990-91, a two-month, 21-game series involving the top three teams in the Soviet National League against all the NHL clubs.

Steve Duchesne had two of the Kings’ goals. The others were scored by Luc Robitaille, Jay Miller and Mikael Lindholm.

Andrei Kvartalnov scored for Khimik.

“Anytime you have a game like this during the season,” Coach Tom Webster said, “you are concerned about injuries or anything that might transpire when you don’t take the game seriously. But I thought tonight was entertaining. It helped that we brought some players up and played some of the younger guys.”

Biggest cheers of the night came in a shootout between the second and third periods. The Soviets won the best-of-five battle of penalty shots, 3-1.

Wayne Gretzky scored the Kings’ only goal. Robitaille, Tony Granato, Miller and Bob Kudelski were all turned away by Soviet goalie Alexei Chervyakov.

Valeri Zelepukin, Dmitri Kvartalnov and Leonid Trukhno scored off the Kings’ Daniel Berthiaume. King Notes

In previous games against the Soviets, the Kings lost to the Central Red Army, 5-2, five seasons ago; to Dynamo Riga, 5-2, two seasons ago, and to Khimik, 6-3, last season. . . . Khimik split its six games on the NHL tour last season.

Neither King defenseman Marty McSorley, who has a bruise in the rib area, nor center John McIntyre, who has contusion in the left shoulder, is expected back before Saturday. . . . The Kings called up center Mikael Lindholm and right wing Kyosti Karjalainen from their Phoenix Roadrunners farm club for the game.