Jets Get Target Practice on Young King Goalie : Hockey: Stauber makes first start, then surrenders three quick goals before being replaced in 9-3 loss at Winnipeg.

WINNIPEG, Canada —  The Kings wanted to look at highly touted rookie goaltender Robb Stauber, so they tossed him on the ice at Winnipeg Arena Friday after giving him a glove, a stick, pads and a mask--but nothing else.

No support.

No defense.

No chance.

The results were predictable. The Winnipeg Jets jumped on the 22-year-old for three goals in a little over three minutes and went on to a 9-3 victory before a sellout crowd of 15,582.

When the barrage was over, the Kings’ Wayne Gretzky could only shake his head.

“Ken Dryden couldn’t have played well tonight,” Gretzky said, referring to the great former Montreal Canadien goalie.

Said Rogie Vachon, King general manager: “We made some stupid mistakes. We had to give him a chance to get his feet wet. He needed some time. Instead, we played like . . . in front of him. I feel sorry for him.”

Stauber blocked the first shot that sailed his way. Then came the barrage:

--At 2:02 of the first period, Thomas Steen scored his 14th goal, putting it beneath Stauber’s pads from the edge of the left circle. The goal was set up when the puck was knocked away from Petr Prajsler.

--At 2:42, Dave Mcllwain scored his 21st goal, backhanding the puck in after a turnover.

--At 3:07, Phil Sykes scored his first of two, from the left edge of the crease after a turnover by Larry Robinson.

The Kings then yanked Stauber. True, the damage had been done, but why compound it by risking psychological damage to the youngster?

They brought him back for the third period, figuring the game was lost.

Stauber seemed calm in the locker room afterward.

“It wasn’t a lot of fun out there,” Stauber said. “It never is when things go like that.”

A veteran of one NHL game, the former University of Minnesota player and a sixth-round draft choice of the Kings wasn’t about to criticize his teammates.

“I’ve been through these nights before,” he said, “when the puck has an eye for the net. It was a combination of things. I wasn’t sharp.”

Asked about his lack of support, Stauber said: “That’s the goalie’s job. He has to come up with some big saves. Sometimes, the team can pick up on that. I just wasn’t capable of that tonight.”

Stauber made a couple of appearances with the Kings in the exhibition season, then sat out most of the season because of back and groin injuries.

He started his comeback with the Kings’ New Haven Nighthawk farm club, compiling a 3-2-1 record and a 1.98 goals-against average. He was selected American Hockey League player of the week shortly before being recalled.

The Kings, with a question mark hovering over their net as the regular season winds down, are hoping Stauber can provide some answers.

Starter Kelly Hrudey is in Los Angeles, still trying to recover from a viral infection that might linger for several more weeks. Backup Mario Gosselin has been ineffective.

Only 29-year-old Ron Scott, called up from New Haven almost a month ago, has shown consistency in goal.

Stauber finished with six goals surrendered on 13 shots, but Vachon indicated Stauber might get another look in the finale of this two-game series Sunday.

That figures to be a big game now since the Kings, in dropping to 28-31-6, find themselves eight points behind the third-place Jets (31-27-8) in the Smythe Division with only 15 games to play.

The Kings seemed to be feeling the effects of Wednesday night’s game with the Edmonton Oilers.

That game, the most penalty-filled in NHL history, left the Kings without the services of right wing Tomas Sandstrom, out with an injury; and defenseman Marty McSorley, serving a three-game suspension.

Add to that a 9 1/2-hour trip here because of plane trouble Thursday and you have a club that figured to be less than sharp.

By the time the game was over, both Sykes, with his seventh and eighth goals, and Doug Evans, with his fourth and fifth, had scored twice.

In all, the Jets took 34 shots on goal, often against a defense that was nowhere to found.

King Notes

King right wing Tomas Sandstrom underwent laser surgery on his injured right eye Friday. Sandstrom, struck in one of Wednesday night’s numerous battles with the Edmonton Oilers, has a facial fracture, a scratched right cornea and some bleeding around the eye. He hopes to be back in the lineup in a week.

King General Manager Rogie Vachon says he might yet make a deal before Tuesday’s trading deadline. “I’m not anxious just to go out and make a deal,” Vachon said, “but if we could get a good, defensive defenseman, I’d have to think about it.” Who could the Kings offer? Asked about Luc Robitaille, the team leader in goals scored, Vachon was adamant. “He’s not going anywhere,” Vachon said . . . Vachon also seemed to rule out dealing one of his four goalies. “I don’t think,” he said, “we can afford to with our present situation.”

The Kings’ Jay Miller, scratched from the lineup Wednesday, was assessed his third game misconduct of the season, resulting in a one-game suspension.