Kurri Gives Kings a Start, but Then They Stop

If these are to be forward Jari Kurri’s final days in Los Angeles, he certainly is going out in classy fashion, one of the last links to the Stanley Cup finals run in 1993.

Kurri, who is playing some of his best hockey of the season, did what he could, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Kings from suffering a major blow to their playoff chances in a 6-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night. Most of the recent trade talk has involved Kurri because he will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

His first-period goal, and 17th of the season, and an assist gave the Kings a 2-1 lead after one. But the Sabres, who had lost four consecutive games, scored five unanswered goals. Buffalo’s star center Pat LaFontaine led the way with four assists and center Derek Plante had one goal and two assists.

The Kings (21-34-15) lost the opportunity to pick up ground in the race for the final playoff spot. Not only did they fall six points behind eighth-place Winnipeg, they were passed by the Mighty Ducks, who defeated Colorado, 4-0, on Wednesday. Anaheim, in ninth place, has 58 points and the Kings remain one back.

King Coach Larry Robinson was incensed. “I honestly think they could have played without equipment--that’s how soft we were,” he said. “It’s a huge game. The whole season is here and they played like they didn’t give a damn. It’s embarrassing.

“They better get their minds on their jobs because there are going to be quite a few guys losing their job. I don’t care if I have to bring up half the team from the Phoenix team and we’ll see how much they whine.”

By the end of the game, the announced crowd of 11,235 at the Forum--the second smallest of the season--saved its loudest cheer for Sabre defenseman and former King Alexei Zhitnik in the third period. Zhitnik’s sixth goal of the season, a blast past King goaltender Byron Dafoe, came on the power play to give the Sabres a 6-2 lead.

It was a tough night for Dafoe, who earlier had been victimized by a bizarre bounce on the Sabres’ fifth goal. The slap shot from defenseman Darryl Shannon came off the end boards, and hit Dafoe’s right skate and went in the net, at 7:28 of the third.

Earlier, there was no indication of what would unfold after the way the Kings played in the first period. In addition to Kurri, newcomer Craig Johnson looked solid with a goal, his 10th, and an assist. Johnson, however, later left because of a left shoulder strain and did not return.

As for Kurri, he is being closely watched. Eight scouts were on hand when the Kings played in Chicago and at least two more, including one from Vancouver, was at Wednesday’s game.

“I played like I’m in juniors with all the scouts watching,” said Kurri, whose ice time has steadily increased. “I just want to play. I don’t care what the situation is. It’s not my job to worry, my job is to play.”

King Notes

The latest trade rumors--with the emphasis on rumors--sending defenseman Marty McSorley, forward Jari Kurri and goaltender Kelly Hrudey to the New York Rangers in exchange for forwards Luc Robitaille and Ray Ferraro did not exactly bring cheers from the Hrudey camp. “Our position is that Kelly is not interested in a situation where he would be a press-box goalie, an insurance policy,” said Hrudey’s agent Lloyd Friedland. The Rangers, who have been playing Glenn Healy, are waiting to see how Mike Richter responds after re-injuring his groin. . . . Left wing Eric Lacroix, who suffered a chest contusion on Sunday at Anaheim, was scratched. Left wing Dimitri Khristrich, who suffered a cut in a first-period collision with Brent Hughes, needed three stitches to close the wound but returned in the second period.