Most of the Action in Penalty Box as Kings Lose

It could be reported that the hockey game between the Kings and the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night in the Pacific Coliseum was filled with penalties and fighting. But at this point in this Smythe Division rivalry, such a statement would be redundant.

Coaches and players don’t consider niceties such as how many points they will earn from these games. Mostly, they count themselves lucky to come out alive.

That’s the way it was, again, in the Canucks’ 6-4 win, in front of 8,283 fans. Disney On Ice, this was not.

Seven goals in the game came on power plays. That translates to lots of penalties.

The Kings (15-18-3) dragged a 3-2 lead kicking and screaming into the third period, but their discipline broke down.

Two goals by Vancouver (10-22-3) gave them the back.

Although the Kings surged late in the period, the Canucks scored at 15:59 to gain a 5-3 lead.

Holding it was another matter. King rookie Luc Robitaille scored 47 seconds later to bring the Kings to within one, but that was all they could do.

The Kings gave up an empty net goal with 39 seconds left to round out a forgettable night.

The last home-and-home series between the teams was an ugly affair. The Kings were beaten, 11-5, in the first game in Vancouver, a match highlighted (or marred, depending on your viewpoint) by 84 minutes of penalties.

The Kings were the naughtiest in that game, allowing the Canucks nine power plays. Vancouver scored on four.

A similar pattern emerged Tuesday night. The game was teetering, just about to go careening out of control.

And then it went over the edge in the second period. The Canucks held a 2-1 lead coming into the period, but were trailing, 3-2, at the end of it. Predictably, the Kings scored their two goals on power plays.

The first, on a pass from Jimmy Carson to Morris Lukowich, came in the midst of bizarre stream of four penalties called in less than 2 1/2 minutes.

Lukowich’s game-tying power play goal came at 6:41 in the second period.

Eighteen seconds after that, Carson scored on a power play to give the Kings their first lead of the game.

After that string of penalties and the ill-will they bred, the confrontation that had been on the edge of breaking out, really exploded.

It began at the source of many brawls, Dave (Tiger) Williams. Williams was given a 10-minute misconduct for a transgression only referee Bob Hall saw. That touched off a melee that brought eight Kings to the ice.

Meanwhile, Williams was halfheartedly making his way off the ice. When he got to the tunnel leading to the dressing rooms, he began a less than friendly chat with a Vancouver fan.

The fan had to be restrained from jumping a rail and, presumably, onto Williams.

The penalties from the fight were lenient in the Kings’ favor and resulted in yet another trend, no power plays.

The early part of the first period was remarkable in two respects: With ten minutes played in the period, there were an aggregate six shots on goal and, the big surprise, no penalties called.