Kings Ruin Return for Canucks’ Quinn : Hockey: McSorley scores six points as former L.A. coach is on the bench for first time in four years.

Pat Quinn is back.

Back behind the bench.

Back behind the eight ball.

Saturday, in his first night as a head coach in the NHL in four years, Quinn felt all the old emotions of coaching, followed swiftly by all the old feelings of frustration as his Vancouver Canucks were beaten by the Kings, 9-1, before a sellout Forum crowd of 16,005.

The Kings were led by the six points of defenseman Marty McSorley, who got his second goal along with five assists. McSorley had entered the game with 13 points for the entire season .

Quinn, president and general manager of the Canucks, fired Coach Bob McCammon Thursday night and will replace him until at least the end of the season.

Quinn returned to coaching in the building where he knew plenty of frustration in his 2 1/2 seasons as King coach. Quinn was given the job before the 1984-85 season and coached into January of 1987, compiling a 75-101-26 record.

“I’m real rusty,” Quinn said. “I don’t watch a game the same as I do behind the bench. I will miss some of the subtleties, but hopefully, it won’t last too long.

“I don’t think I could imagine a worse nightmare for a first game,” Quinn said. “They (his players) are embarrassed. It’s not embarrassment they should be feeling. If we work together, maybe we can change things.

And how long will he coach?

“I didn’t take this job (in the front office) to coach,” Quinn replied, “but I will coach the rest of the season and let the chips fall where they may.”

Mostly they fell in the net Saturday as the Kings exploded for three goals in each period to improve their record to 29-18-5. The Kings needed a victory to remain in sole possession of first place in the Smythe Division, two points ahead of the Calgary Flames, who also won Saturday.

Vancouver fell deeper into the Smythe Division cellar at 19-31-4, and 2-14-2 over its last 18 games.

McSorley, a player who is rarely in the spotlight, had to admit he enjoyed his moment of glory.

“I’m not kidding anybody,” he said. “I’m happy. I’m not at the top of the world. That would be winning the Stanley Cup. I’m as happy as I can be. But once the puck is dropped for the next game, I’ll forget all about it.”

Three Kings--Luc Robitaille, Dave Taylor and Steve Duchesne--remain from the Quinn era and each celebrated his return with a first-period point.

Robitaille got an assist on Dave Taylor’s 14th goal before later scoring his 26th and 27th goals.

Duchesne got an assist on the first of Tony Granato’s two goals, Granato’s 18th and 19th.

Wayne Gretzky got his 33rd goal and two assists to increase his league-leading point total to 103.

The other King goals were scored by John Tonelli (10th) and Steve Kasper (fifth).

Greg Adams accounted for Vancouver’s goal. It was his 16th.

Kelly Hrudey, in goal for the Kings, stopped 29 of 30 shots.

When it was over, Duchesne talked about the emotion of seeing Quinn behind a Forum bench once again.

“He was my first coach,” Duchesne said. “He really helped me and I have a definite feeling for him.”

Quinn, too, felt some emotion about returning.

“I loved it here,” he said. “I enjoyed working here. They have great fans, especially now that they have a winning team.”

They don’t have one in Vancouver, which is why Pat Quinn has come back to where he started.

King Notes

The Vancouver Canucks, arriving in town Friday, were on an adjacent runway at Los Angeles International Airport when the crash involving two planes occurred. “Watching this happen before your eyes was unbelieveable,” said Steve Tambellini, the team’s media director. “The (bigger) plane was lit up like a lantern. At first, we didn’t know if it was going to stop before it hit us. Everybody was pretty quiet after that.’

Canuck forward Steve Bozek is day to day with a partially separated shoulder. He was cross-checked from behind by Craig Simpson of the Edmonton Oilers. As a result, Simpson has been suspended for three games. . . . Vancouver center Igor Larionov will be out for a week because of a sprained ankle. . . . This is the final Forum appearance for the Kings until Feb. 12, when they host the Flames. The Kings leave today on a four-game, seven-day trip.