Kurri’s Two Goals Propel the Kings, 7-3 : Hockey: He has 10 points, including seven goals, in his last eight games. Berthiaume ends slump by stopping Flyers.

Suddenly, Jari Kurri is breathing life into his once-deadly shot.

Suddenly, the Kings, thought by some to be dead in the Smythe Division race, are breathing down the necks of the second-place Winnipeg Jets.

Coincidence or consequence?

Kurri has been maligned since coming to the Kings in an off-season trade, and deservedly so. He hardly resembled the former linemate of Wayne Gretzky back in the glory days in Edmonton, struggling through his first 26 games with eight goals, a total of 19 points and a seeming inability to pull the trigger on his shot at crucial times.

And as he struggled, so did the Kings, falling as low as fifth in the division.

But Saturday night, Kurri continued his return to form with two goals to lead the Kings to a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers before a sellout Forum crowd of 16,005. That gives Kurri, who was mockingly referred to as the Finished Finn earlier this season, 15 goals, seven of those in his last eight games. During that span, the 31-year-old Kurri has a total of 10 points.

The Kings improved to 16-16-7, moving them to third place, three points behind the Jets.

“I’m getting to know the system, and I’m starting to feel comfortable,” said Kurri, who had to go through a period of adjustment after spending last season playing in Italy. “They play a little different hockey on this side of the ocean.”

It was Philadelphia that sent Kurri and defenseman Jeff Chychrun to the Kings for center Steve Kasper and defenseman Steve Duchesne last spring as part of a three-team deal that also involved the Edmonton Oilers.

“There was a lot of pressure,” Kurri said of the trade. “Maybe I was trying too much, running around trying to make things happen right off the bat instead of sticking to my game.”

Serious questions remain about the trade. The Kings have unquestionably been hurt by the loss of Kasper and Duchesne. Kasper is sidelined for the season because of with a knee injury, but Duchesne reminded his former team of his skills with his eighth goal to open the scoring, later adding his ninth.

But beyond that, it was all Kings, with goalie Daniel Berthiaume ending a four-game losing streak with his first victory since beating the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 23.

Gretzky added his 17th goal Saturday along with two assists.

He and Kurri also combined on a short-handed goal that brought back memories of Edmonton. Gretzky stole the puck from Dan Quinn, deked his way past Quinn and fed Kurri on a two-on-one rush for the goal.

The other King goals were scored by Rob Blake (second), Mike Donnelly (18th), Corey Millen (fourth) and Marty McSorley (fourth).

Philadelphia (12-19-7) got its other goal from Pelle Eklund, his fifth.

“I’ve gone through slumps like this before,” Kurri said. “I’ve always been a slow starter. We’ve only played half the season. There’s a lot of hockey left. Let’s wait until the end of the season and see where we are.”

King Notes

The verdict is in on Tony Granato and it was a lot more mild than expected. Granato was fined $500 by the NHL on Saturday for cross checking the Calgary Flames’ Frank Musil last weekend in Calgary. Because referee Bill McCreary had assessed a match penalty against Granato, and indicated there was an intent to injure, the Kings feared Granato might be suspended. “In considering this matter,” NHL executive vice president Brian O’Neill said after granting Granato a hearing Friday in Toronto, “it is apparent from the tape and the testimony that Granato was trying to get around the Calgary defenseman and, in doing so, he struck him in the face with an apparent crosscheck. . . . In arriving at this decision, it must not be construed that this type of crosscheck is acceptable.” Said King vice president Roy Mlakar: “We showed them two versions (of the crosscheck) and gave them Tony’s history and the situation at hand, that there was no intent to injure.”

There is a theory that the league, in the wake of Coach Tom Webster throwing a stick at a referee, will punish the Kings more than other clubs. “We have heard that,” Mlakar said. “We hope that’s not true.” The Granato decision would appear to indicate it is not. . . . Steve Kasper suffered cartilage and ligament damage to his right knee on Nov. 14, and underwent surgery Dec. 2. . . . Center Keith Acton (broken left wrist) and defenseman Mark Howe (broken left thumb) are both expected to be sidelined for several more weeks. . . . Goalie Ron Hextall is back home with his wife, Dianne, who gave birth Friday to the couple’s third child, Rebecca.