Gretzky, Kings Finally Stick It to Canucks, 6-1 : Hockey: L.A. evens series with Vancouver as Gretzky scores go-ahead goal. Blake has three assists, Hrudey is sharp.

Since he has been in this town, Wayne Gretzky has lost:

--His customary place in the spotlight to the Vancouver Canucks’ Cliff Ronning.

--His sticks to thieves.

--And his temper when asked for the umpteenth time by the local media if the whispers of a mysterious injury were true, accounting for his inability to rally the Kings.

Wednesday night, he answered back.

No, there is nothing wrong with Wayne Gretzky.

Or, apparently, the Kings.

Scoring a historic goal to put his team ahead, and later adding an assist, Gretzky led the Kings to a 6-1 victory over the Canucks Wednesday before a sellout Pacific Coliseum crowd of 16,123, tying the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Now it’s a best-of-three series with two of the three at the Forum, where Game 5 will be played Friday night.

This was the way it was supposed to be, at least on paper.

After going through a role reversal for much of the first three games, the Kings and Canucks reverted to form, the Kings looking like the Smythe Division champions and Vancouver like the team that finished in fourth place, 37 points behind.

The Kings showed the speed and aggressiveness lacking on offense when they lost two of the first three games. They continued to play tight defense, holding the Canucks to 21 shots on goal and getting 35 themselves. Defenseman Rob Blake contributed three assists. And goalie Kelly Hrudey again showed the form that enabled him to win his last seven regular-season starts.

“We responded to the challenge,” Coach Tom Webster said, “but we’re not done yet. We still have a lot of work to do.

“We showed speed and patience. We were going to the net. But the most encouraging thing was the number of shots on goal we had.”

Webster was also quick to defend Gretzky.

“Wayne Gretzky has been through this for 12 years,” Webster said. “He has carried many a hockey team and many a game. Because of the number of games he has played, he may not always live up to expectations, but with what he has brought to this organization, you can’t take anything away from him.”

Gretzky and his linemates, Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato, started against the Canucks’ first line of Ronning-Geoff Courtnall-Trevor Linden and stayed in the players’ faces much of the night.

“Tony, Tomas and I talked about going right at them,” Gretzky said.

Vancouver Coach Pat Quinn said his first line, so dominating in the early games of the series, might have been “our worst” Wednesday.

The Vancouver fans, so supportive in Game 3 and early in Game 4, were booing the Canucks by the end of Wednesday’s game.

Before the game, the Kings were stressing how important it was to take the early lead, something they had yet to accomplish in the series.

Wednesday, they finally did.

The Kings scored first at the 8:30 mark of the opening period off a shot by Blake from the right circle. With Petr Nedved on his back, Steve Kasper came in from the left side and redirected the puck into the net for his second goal of the series.

Having waited so long to get a lead, the Kings didn’t have much time to enjoy it.

The Canucks responded less than a minute later, at 9:14, on a power play set up when Brian Benning was called for tripping Nedved.

Tom Kurvers shot from about 50 feet out and Ronning cut in unimpeded to tip in the game-tying goal.

The Kings went back into the lead at 13:11. On a power play, Blake shot from the right circle. Vancouver goalie Kirk McLean blocked it, but Gretzky, cutting through the crease, got the rebound on his stick and back-handed it past McLean for his fourth goal of the series.

It was also his 93rd career playoff goal, enabling Gretzky to break a tie with former Edmonton Oiler teammate Jari Kurri and become the NHL’s all-time leading postseason goal scorer.

At 10:20 of the second period, the Kings extended their lead to 3-1. Dave Taylor charged in from the right, took a pass from Blake and shoved it past McLean for yet another record-setting goal. It was Taylor’s first score of the series, but his 21st career playoff goal, setting a club mark. He had been tied with Marcel Dionne.

Gretzky set up the fourth goal by taking the puck and two defensemen with him behind the Vancouver net. He found Granato, who put it past McLean 1:24 into the final period.

Mike Donnelly and Steve Duchesne closed out the scoring, Duchesne getting his goal on a penalty shot after Ronning was called for throwing his stick.

The only question remaining was not whether the Kings would survive in the series, but whether they would survive to make it back to Los Angeles.

Furious Vancouver fans pelted them with golf balls, tennis balls, Wiffle balls, beer cans and even an air horn.

About the only thing the Kings didn’t find coming their way much Wednesday night was a puck.

King Notes

The Kings suffered a loss before the game when two 20-year-olds broke into the Pacific Coliseum, came through the roof above the dressing room and stole four of Wayne Gretzky’s aluminum sticks. Someone got the license number of the pair, however, as they made their escape, enabling local police to apprehend them and recover the sticks. By game time, they were back in Gretzky’s hands, undamaged. But even if they hadn’t been found, the Kings always carry a few extra Gretzky sticks just in case.