[0] BARRIE IS A HERO TO HIS FRIENDS UNSUNG KING HELPS DEFEAT VANCOUVER KINGS 5, VANCOUVER 2.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

VANCOUVER - For Len Barrie, hockey nomad, this was a homecoming.

Barrie, the Kings' fourth-line center who is on his fourth NHL team after two years in Germany, has a house in nearby Victoria and a whole lot of stories to tell about Friday's 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

With friends and family among the 15,006 at General Motors Place, Barrie scored his first goal in almost two months and helped the Kings hold off the Canucks for their fourth victory on a trip that ends tonight in San Jose.

``It was great to get one in front of so many familiar faces,''said Barrie, who needed almost 40 tickets for the game. ``Most of these people have seen me through a lot. This was kind of a thank you.''

It rarely has been so storybook for Barrie, who opened the season at minor-league Long Beach but was called up when the Kings' first line was wiped out by injuries in earlier this year.

Against the Canucks, everyone was back and firing on all cylinders. Jozef Stumpel, the center Barrie replaced in November, got two goals in the second period. Craig Johnson and Glen Murray (empty netter) also scored.

Kings goaltender Stephane Fiset allowed two goals in the final 5:14 and almost let in a third at the end, but Jarkko Ruutu's score was ruled to have come after the final whistle.

``I'm glad for Lenny, but this one was really draining,'' coach Andy Murray said.

For Barrie, 30, it is clear his game picks up when he sees familiar faces. The last time he scored was a two-goal effort against one of his former teams, the Florida Panthers. Barrie talked to the Panthers last summer about a job, but they showed no interest.

He signed with the Kings on July 21, leaving the German League team in Frankfurt with hopes of catching on with one of the two expansion teams that begin next season.

``This is a guy who was a top scorer in the minors his whole life now playing on a checking line with me and Disco (Dan Bylsma),'' said Bob Corkum, who assisted on Barrie's goal. ``Lenny is a warrior, a guy who learned to change his game in order to stay. You need the Lenny Barries if you are going to win in this league.''

The Kings were coming off an impressive 7-2 victory against Calgary on Wednesday but expected a stronger outing from Vancouver. Although the Canucks are last in the Northwest Division, they came in 5-2-1 since the All-Star break and were unbeaten in their last four.

They also were playing their first home game since winger Donald Brashear received a concussion last Monday after getting struck in the head by the stick of Boston's Marty McSorley.

With 2:25 left in the first period, Barrie picked up Corkum's rebound and beat Vancouver goaltender Felix Potvin for his fifth goal of the season.

Although the Canucks came back, the game was decided in the final seconds of the first period and opening minute of the second.

Johnson, like Barrie a seldom-heard King, scored with just five seconds left in the first after rebounding a shot by Jason Blake. It was Johnson's eighth goal this year.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

< Four times the Kings have won the first of back-to-back games this season and have not won the second. After beating Vancouver on Friday, they play San Jose tonight.

--Oct. 15-16: Beat Calgary 4-1, lost to Edmonton 5-4

--Nov. 2-3: Beat Pittsburgh 5-4, tied Detroit 1-1

--Nov. 23-24: Beat Colorado 6-2, lost to Dallas 3-2 (OT)

--Jan. 18-19: Beat Detroit 3-2, lost to Buffalo 4-1.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo: Stephane Fiset goes after a loose puck as Vancouver's Andrew Cassels, left, prepares to pounce on it.

Nick Procaylo/Associated Press

Box: Double trouble (see text)