Touring ‘Mission’ of Soviets Beat Kings : Hockey: Tired Khimik Voskresensk team has little trouble with unenthusiastic NHL foe in opening game of tour, 6-3.

Keep in mind that Monday night’s game between the Soviet club Khimik Voskresensk and the Kings was an exhibition hockey game, and not a superpower summit (this time held on frozen water.) A sports-based diplomatic mission, not the Canada Cup.

Monday night it was best to keep that in mind. Many in the crowd of 13,513 in the Forum caught on and had filed out long before the Soviets had beaten the Kings, 6-3.

Why expect more from this exhibition? After all, Khimik Voskresensk has already finished its season in the Soviet National League (19-9-8, second to the Red Army--again) and appeared leg-tired and jet-lagged. After all, the game meant little to the Kings other than as a vehicle in which to raise money for the NHL players’ pension fund.

Monday night’s game was the first in the NHL’s Super Series in which all 21 league teams will host one of two touring Soviet clubs. It is the seventh time the Soviets have undertaken such a series in North America, and these tours are not without their touristic elements. The teams are encouraged to visit local points of interest in each NHL city.

The players and entourage of Khimik Voskresensk have been no different here. After arriving in Los Angeles Friday, the team watched the Kings play the Rangers Saturday night. Sunday they toured Hollywood and asked to go to Marina del Rey.

Accompanying the 35-person team and staff is the requisite security presence of men in dark blue suits who stood behind the Khimik bench, watching the Soviet players and not the game.

The NHL has provided its own security, and also a recording of the lengthy but beautiful Soviet national anthem. There was a slight glitch involving the Soviet flag--the one Khimik brought was much larger than the U.S. flag tacked on the Forum wall, an obvious breech of protocol. The Kings had to scramble to obtain a smaller Soviet flag. During the anthem, a Forum usher was dispatched to stand high in the seats with the flag attached to a stick.

It was hard to figure the game as more than an exhibition. Only late in the game, when the crowd had whipped itself into a nationalistic fervor, did the Kings respond with like enthusiasm.

The first period was replete with the usual polite and lovely skating and occasional nudge so characteristic of the international game.

Khimik scored after luring King goaltender Mario Gosselin far out of the net to clear the puck. Gosselin, faced with an onrushing Soviet line, backpedaled into the crease and stopped one shot with his chest. The puck fell in the vicinity of Vladimir Eryomin, who shot it into the goal while balancing on one skate.

The visitors scored again at 18:35, on Valeri Zelepukhin’s shot.

That 2-0 deficit seemed to light a fire under the Kings. The play and the hitting became more brisk, but the King offense became no more effective.

The Soviets scored again early in the second period to take a 3-0 lead that lasted until King right wing Mikko Makela took Todd Elik’s pass and scored on goaltender Alexei Chervyakov’s glove side. Chervyakov stopped 40 of 43 shots.

Khimik scored two quick goals to take a 5-1 lead midway through the third period. Not until Keith Crowder put in a rebound did the Kings score in the final period. Mikael Lindholm scored for the Kings late in game, and that set off a flurry of King scoring opportunities, none of which came to fruition.

Khimik scored an empty net goal at 19:01.

Kings Notes

The Forum crowd offered polite but scant applause during the introduction of the Soviet team--with one exception. Alexander Smirnov, much to his puzzlement, was given a rousing cheer by the crowd which had, at last, heard a name it recognized. . . . King Coach Tom Webster watched the game from the press box. . . . Khimik right wing Roman Oksyuta is the only player on his team to have been drafted by an NHL team. The Rangers selected Oksyuta as the 202nd pick overall in the 1989 entry draft. . . . The Kings play their next game--this one counts--Wednesday at home against the Vancouver Canucks.