Scoring Should Not Be a Problem for Canucks : Kings: Vancouver averaged more than five goals a game in winning seven of nine during regular season.

Wide-open hockey propelled the Kings past the Calgary Flames in the first round of the playoffs, but it remains to be seen whether that can work against the Canucks in the Smythe Division final, starting Sunday in Vancouver .

A club-record 33 goals by the Kings vaporized the Flames, yet Calgary hurt itself with erratic showings from some of its top scorers--Joe Nieuwendyk, Robert Reichel, Gary Suter and Al MacInnis--and a horrid final two games by goaltender Jeff Reese.

Looking ahead, however, there are new numbers for the Kings to consider.

They lost seven times to the Canucks in nine games this season, winning twice. The Kings scored 31 goals and gave up 46 in the season series, slightly more than five goals a game. Vancouver scored five or more goals in six of the nine games. Cliff Ronning led the Canuck scoring with five goals and 15 points. Tomas Sandstrom, with six goals and 12 points, and Luc Robitaille, with five goals and 12 points, were the leading scorers for the Kings.

King Coach Barry Melrose was decidedly unconcerned about any of those numbers Friday, saying, with a laugh: “Obviously, Mr. (Pat) Quinn outcoached me and Cap (Raeder). The good thing about the regular season is that it doesn’t mean anything in the playoffs. It’s not like the World Championships.”

Had he watched any game film of Vancouver?

“No, I’ve been lazing around on the beach,” he said. “I don’t have an extension cord that long.”

Melrose and Wayne Gretzky both had said Thursday, after the series-clinching victory in Game 6, that the Kings have no intention of changing their style to match up against Vancouver. If anything, Melrose on Friday was even more adamant about staying away from traditional playoff hockey, saying it was possible to win by not playing a tight-checking defensive game.

“I can guarantee people in L.A. had more fun watching that game than a 2-1 game,” Melrose said. “We’re fun to watch. We play very hard. We beat Calgary, 3-1 (in Game 4). If we have to play like that, we can. It’s going to be very hard to shut us down. I’m not a purist like some of those older people. In the ‘40s and ‘50s, a 2-1 game was nice. Now, hockey’s much more exciting. I have no problem playing that style.”

Still, one of his players, a defenseman, sounded a note of caution.

“I don’t know if we want to have a lot of games like this,” Rob Blake said. “I think we have the capability to play a close-checking, hard-hitting game. And we can open it up.”