Kings Keep On Rolling : Hockey: Their 7-4 victory over Capitals gives them 3-0-3 record, equaling best start in franchise history.

For a night, the skate was on the other foot.

In a new twist, King players were actually haunting their former teammates. Two former Capitals--goaltender Byron Dafoe and left wing Dimitri Khristich--were instrumental in helping lead the Kings to a 7-4 victory against Washington on Friday night before a sellout crowd of 18,130 at USAir Arena.

Their efforts successfully complemented the virtuoso performances of Wayne Gretzky, who had four assists, and Jari Kurri’s 23rd career hat trick. The victory means the Kings (3-0-3) have equaled their best start in franchise history, which was in the 1974-75 season and they are one of three unbeaten teams in the NHL, the others being Philadelphia and Hartford.

It was also their first victory at Washington since Jan. 1, 1990, back when Coach Larry Robinson was playing defense for the Kings. Since then, the Kings were 0-4-1 in this building.

“You’ve gotta have one great game every 15 years,” said Gretzky, who struggled here even in his Edmonton Oiler days.

Said Kurri: “In my career, it’s one of the toughest buildings. It’s nice to get a win here. And it’s nice to get out of here.”

So maybe it also took a couple of ex-Capitals to beat the Capitals in Washington as Dafoe made 39 saves and Khristich had one goal and one assist, both in the first period. Actually, there were two others on the bench with Capital connections--John Druce, who had one assist, and assistant coach John Perpich, who was with Washington for 3 1/2 seasons.

But Dafoe and Khristich were part of the Kings’ biggest off-season transaction in which they were acquired in a draft-day trade for first- and fourth-round draft picks in 1996.

Khristich had more of a history here, spending his entire NHL career with the Capitals before the trade. He had a rocky relationship with Coach Jim Schoenfeld and took exception to his recent comments that Khristich didn’t want to play hockey anymore.

“I had different view on the game,” Khristich said. “I can play. He did his game [plan] and I didn’t agree. I forgot how to play [in Washington]. But I’ve found [with the Kings] I still love to play.”

Khristich downplayed the significance of the night but nevertheless said he had his wife, Erin, fly in for the game. His nervousness during the game disappeared via an unusual way. “You see familiar faces but it really helps that they have different uniforms,” he said.

Any friendly feelings disappeared for Dafoe, who turned into a human target in the second period as the Capitals picked up two minor penalties for interfering with him. The first one came when his former roommate, Keith Jones, threw a forearm into Dafoe and sent him flying.

“They took no prisoners. I thought they were my friends,” Dafoe said, laughing. “Well, they did say, ‘Sorry Byron.’

“I had a good situation in Washington. I was just happy to be traded to L.A. because I knew I could get more playing time. It’s not revenge to take two points but it definitely feels good. I know all the guys and before the game I’m sure they were gunning for me.”

The Kings were caught a bit off-guard by the unexpected appearance of Capital star right wing Peter Bondra, who earlier in the day signed a five-year, $9-million deal after a 39-day holdout. (After the game, the Capitals announced they signed their other prominent holdout, Michal Pivonka).

Bondra, who had been playing in the IHL, looked sharp and used his speed to score once and set up another goal.

Kurri’s three goals were the first of the season for him.

In addition to Gretzky, Kurri and Khristich, the Kings received balanced scoring with goals from Vitali Yachmenev, who added two assists, Troy Crowder and Tony Granato. They also drove goaltender Jim Carey out of the game after he allowed three goals on 11 shots in the first period. It is the second consecutive game Carey has been pulled.

The Kings turned in another flawless performance killing penalties as the Capitals were 0 for 7 on the power play. King opponents have not scored a power-play goal in three games, going 0 for 19.

* DUCKS MIGHTY BAD

Anaheim is outshot, 24-6, for the first two periods against unbeaten Flyers, who breeze to 4-2 victory but might lose goalie Ron Hextall. C5