Healy Continues to Be Greatest Gift of All for the Kings

For the Kings, it’s been the season to be jolly since August, when Bruce McNall went ho, ho, ho and dropped Wayne Gretzky down the Forum chimney.

But if McNall had suggested then that the Kings would have the third-best record in the National Hockey League come Dec. 24, someone would have been accused of spiking McNall’s eggnog.

Yet here they are, after a 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks here Friday night, with 49 points, just two behind division leader Calgary and three behind Montreal, the overall points leader in the National Hockey League.

Gretzky, of course, has done more than his share--his two empty-net goals Friday gave him 28 for the season and 611 for his career, which moved him one ahead of Bobby Hull into fourth-place on the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring list.

But the season’s biggest surprise continues to be goaltender Glenn Healy, who held off a withering 50-shot Vancouver assault Friday night, not to mention a cheap shot delivered by Canucks winger Tony Tanti--to record his league-leading 18th win.

Healy blanked the Canucks until two Kings who have had grievous problems scoring--Bobby Carpenter and Mike Krushelnyski--scored within 59 seconds of each other in the second period.

The Kings had just suffered the embarrassment of being outshot, 3-2, during a 5-minute major penalty, before Gretzky--who also had 2 assists on the night--took the puck away from Vancouver’s Brian Bradley and set up Carpenter for an easy tap at 10:04.

The goal, only Carpenter’s third in the last 19 games, gave the Kings a 1-0 lead.

When Canucks defenseman Harold Snepsts fanned on a clearing pass, Krushelnyski pounced on the puck and beat Vancouver goalie Troy Gamble at 11:03, making it 2-0. The goal was Krushelnyski’s second in his last 20 games.

After Bradley cut the Kings’ lead to 2-1 at 16:40, Mike Allison--minutes after catching the butt end of Garth Butcher’s stick in the face--scored his ninth goal after Marty McSorley had flattened Vancouver goalie Gamble.

The goal came at 19:19 of the second period.

In the third period, the Kings were outshot, 24-7, and the Canucks had a man advantage for 5 minutes when Krushelnyski speared Jim Benning. But after Trevor Linden cut the score to 3-2 during a goal-mouth scramble at 4:33, Healy stoned the Canucks.

Twice, he denied Tanti on rebound shots, and the obviously frustrated Canuck winger retaliated, knocking Healy to the ice after play had turned up ice.

Krushelnyski was still serving his penalty when Gretzky’s 80-foot backhand from neutral ice went into the empty net at 17:54. He added another with 6 seconds left.