3-2 Defeat Is No Loss for Kings : Hockey: L.A. already had clinched second place in the Smythe Division before Vancouver’s victory.

The final on the Forum scoreboard Tuesday night was: Vancouver Canucks 3, Kings 2.

No problem.

It didn’t matter because of the score brightly displayed on a message board along a side wall of the Forum: Winnipeg Jets 6, Edmonton Oilers 2.

The Kings learned with 7:10 to play in the second period that the Oilers had lost, giving the Kings second place in the Smythe Division and home-ice advantage for the opening round of the playoffs.

Game 1 will be played Saturday night at the Forum with Game 2 on Monday night.

“It’s kind of unexpected,” King goalie Kelly Hrudey said of the second-place finish, “considering the way things were two months ago when we were just battling for a playoff spot.”

The Kings seemed to play better Tuesday night after learning it didn’t matter what they did.

“I think we were watching the scoreboard more than we should have,” Hrudey said. “I know I was. I had a real tough time concentrating in the second period. I kept looking up at the scoreboard.”

Tuesday’s loss, played before the 71st straight sellout Forum crowd, gave the Kings a final record of 35-31-14.

Vancouver, already the Smythe Division champion, is 42-26-11 with one to play, already the Canucks’ best season ever.

The Kings’ penalty-killing unit had been faultless in the previous two games, stopping all 11 power plays attempted.

But that unit was far from perfect Tuesday. All three Vancouver goals came on power plays.

The Kings’ troubles began early when defenseman Marty McSorley was handed a double minor for high-sticking and roughing Dana Murzyn 2:22 into the game.

With only six seconds left in the first two-minute segment of the penalty, Sergio Momesso scored his sixth goal.

Before the period was over, Pavel Bure added his team-high 33rd goal and third in as many games.

During the second period, Doug Lidster’s fifth goal made the score 3-0 before Larry Robinson put the Kings on the scoreboard with his third goal of the season and his first since Oct. 31. Robinson had gone 45 games without a goal.

By the third period, the game had deteriorated into a fight-marred struggle, a continuation of Sunday night’s penalty-marred game between the teams.

McSorley really hit the jackpot after a fight with the Adrien Plavsic, drawing 24 penalty minutes and a game misconduct. McSorley received five minutes for cross-checking, five minutes for fighting, two minutes for roughing, two minutes for interference and a 10-minute misconduct.

People have gone to jail for less.

The Canucks, however, couldn’t take advantage against Steve Weeks, who played the third period in goal, replacing Kelly Hrudey. With nothing at stake, Hrudey was rested for the final 20 minutes.

In all, there was a total of 163 penalty minutes in the game. The Kings were penalized 22 times for 88 minutes, Vancouver 24 times for 75 minutes.

McSorley had nine penalties to tie a team record.

Corey Millen made the score close with his 21st goal late in the final period.

But he was more excited about the final standings.

“It’s going to be a very intense series against Edmonton,” Millen said. “You never know how it’s going to come out. If there’s a seventh game, you want it to be in your own building.”

King Notes

Team awards were handed out before Tuesday’s game. The local media voted goalie Kelly Hrudey the winner of the Bill Libby Memorial Award as the team’s Most Valuable Player. Other media awards went to center Corey Millen (Best Newcomer), Rob Blake (Outstanding Defenseman), and center John McIntyre (Defensive Player Award). Two more awards, voted on by the players, went to defenseman Charlie Huddy (Unsung Hero) and wing Tony Granato (Most Inspirational). Wing Luc Robitaille won two awards, Most Popular Player (selected by the fans) and Community Service (picked by the Kings’ front office).

Tuesday night’s capacity crowd officially made the Kings the first professional team in the city’s history to sell out an entire regular season. . . . Jim Hiller, the 6-foot-2, 208-pound 1989 draft pick signed out of college this week by the Kings, was the Western Collegiate Hockey Assn.’s leading scorer this season, his junior year at Northern Michigan University. In 41 games, Hiller had 31 goals and 55 assists for a total of 86 points.