A Touch of Kurri Is Too Much for Ducks : Hockey: He scores twice in the third to break a tie and lift the Kings to a 3-2 victory in the first meeting between the teams.

The first installment of the King-Mighty Duck rivalry featured more than 40 minutes of methodical hockey. For the Kings, it was white-knuckle hockey, knowing they had everything to lose, including another spot in the Western Conference standings.

So the question of the moment: Why weren’t the Ducks folding after being outshot, 33-10, in the first two periods?

Just when it seemed the Ducks were on the verge of making or getting a point or two, the Kings finally broke through in the final 14 minutes with two goals by Jari Kurri to give them a 3-2 victory Thursday night at the Forum before a sellout crowd of 16,005.

But the Ducks did not go down without their characteristic last-minute flurry. Trailing, 3-1, late in the third period, the Ducks picked up momentum and were able to convert on a six-on-four advantage with King left wing Luc Robitaille off the ice for charging. Duck Coach Ron Wilson pulled goaltender Guy Hebert for an extra attacker, and it paid off with a power-play goal at 18:38 by Shaun Van Allen.

Van Allen, at the left crease, got his stick on a shot from defenseman Bill Houlder from the left point and tipped the puck past King goaltender Rick Knickle to pull the Ducks to 3-2.

It was back to tense hockey for the Kings for the final 1:22. Wilson immediately pulled Hebert again and the Ducks were able to sustain one more flurry in the Kings’ zone but Knickle was able to hold on. The Kings finally got the puck out in the waning seconds.

And thus, temporary supremacy was established by the Kings in Southern California and in the Western Conference as they took sole possession of 10th place, moving two points in front of the Ducks. By winning, the Kings (10-13-2) won their first game after dropping six in a row, their longest losing streak since 1987.

“We had to win, let’s be honest” said the Kings’ Wayne Gretzky, who had two assists. “But as close as we are to sinking, we are as close to being in the middle of things. We just needed to win a game.”

Said King Coach Barry Melrose: “I feel a lot better after a win than a loss. You guys (reporters) would have been very tough if we had lost. Well, I wouldn’t have been a bowl of cherries, either.”

That the Kings and the Ducks (9-16-2) entered this game with 20 points each added a bit of luster to their first regular-season meeting, especially since the Kings had been struggling and Ducks had come off an impressive victory over Winnipeg on Wednesday night.

“This is our 27th game. This is their 27th year,” said Duck General Manager Jack Ferreira.

For more than two periods, the Ducks did what has made them successful, playing their patient brand of hockey, which can be considered slightly dull at times. But that’s what the Ducks wanted.

You don’t often hear a front-office type wish for a dull game, but not all teams are equal, especially not expansion teams.

“I hope it is dull,” said Pierre Gauthier, Anaheim assistant general manager.

The game met his expectations until the third period. The Ducks had actually taken the early lead with a power-play goal by Peter Douris at 10:13 of the first. But with six minutes to play in the first, Robitaille responded with a power-play goal of his own to make it 1-1.

Early on the Ducks were constantly killing penalties, including one stretch where the Kings had a two-man advantage for 3:08. “I don’t think we had much energy left after the first period,” Wilson said. “We were short-handed seven times in the first period alone.”

In all, the Kings were two for 10 on the power play. The likes of Gretzky and Kurri are going to score sooner or later, and it was Kurri who put it away. He made it 2-1, scoring on a power-play at 6:00, with a shot from the left circle, and 3-1 at 10:16 from almost the same spot when he beat Hebert on the stick side high in left corner.

King-Duck Notes

Coach Barry Melrose had feared that defenseman Alexei Zhitnik would be suspended by the NHL for two games after cross-checking Montreal’s Guy Carbonneau in the face last Saturday. But Zhitnik’s suspension was for only one game, and he returned to action Thursday after missing Tuesday’s game while awaiting a decision from NHL senior vice president Brian Burke. . . . Center Pat Conacher (strained lower back) has missed four consecutive games. . . . King scratches: defenseman Tim Watters, center Jimmy Carson and forward John Druce. Sitting out for the Mighty Ducks were defensemen Mark Ferner (charley horse), David Williams (ill), Myles O’Connor and forwards Robin Bawa and Troy Loney (all recovering from knee surgery). Duck Coach Ron Wilson had scratched Jim Thomson nine times in the last 12 games but gave the right wing an opportunity to play against his former teammates. Duck Center Tim Sweeney, who has missed three consecutive games, is having blood tests to find out whether he has mononucleosis.

* BACK IN BUSINESS

NHL officials are in whistle-blowing shape as they return after a 17-day strike. C6