KINGS JUST SPARRING PARTNER VANCOUVER PREPARING FOR POSSIBLE DUCKS SERIES VANCOUVER 5, KINGS 1.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

The Vancouver Canucks toyed with the Kings on Saturday. Its tonight's game against the Mighty Ducks at the Pond that could really be interesting.

There is a good chance the two teams will meet again in two weeks for the opening round of the playoffs.

The Canucks' 5-1 victory over the Kings in front of a sellout crowd of 18,118 at Staples Center was impressive, but it didn't move them up in the Western Conference standings. They have 103 points, which set a franchise record, but they remain third behind Dallas and Detroit.

``We know this is a special season,'' Canucks alternate captain Murray Barron said. ``But when you are in the middle of it you don't have a chance to put your feet up and enjoy it. Now we have to get ready for the Ducks. That will be a big game.''

The Ducks have been sixth the past few weeks before dropping to seventh on Friday when Minnesota won in overtime. A victory tonight could put the Ducks back in sixth and set up a rematch with the Canucks.

Vancouver brought their A-game against the Kings, getting goals from five different players including Markus Naslund, who scored his 46th of the season for his league-leading 101st point.

The Canucks were so potent they didn't even need power forward Todd Bertuzzi, who entered the game as the league's leading goal scorer. Bertuzzi was shut out by the Kings, allowing Naslund to tie him for the league lead.

But the Canucks also got goals from twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin, proving they are more than just a one-line team.

``It's pretty obvious why teams like that are in the position they are in and why we are in the position we're in,'' Kings defenseman Aaron Miller said. ``They're firing on all cylinders, everything is clicking, things are easy. They're playing their system well and I know we're not.''

The Kings, winless in their past seven games, actually took an early lead after Henrik Sedin was whistled off for hooking.

Alexander Frolov rebounded a Ziggy Palffy slapper past the Canucks' No. 3 goaltender, Alexander Auld, at 6:12.

It was Frolov's 14th goal of the season, sixth best among NHL rookies. But it also gave Frolov a plus-nine for the season, tops among first-year players.

There weren't many Kings highlights after that.

Vancouver tied the game with just more than three minutes left in the period.

Jaroslav Modry turned the puck over in the Kings' zone and Brandon Reid skated in on goaltender Jamie Storr.

Reid circled the net and found Matt Cooke in the slot. Cooke beat Storr for his 15th goal of the season.

Vancouver took over in the second and again it began with a Kings turnover.

The Canucks were shorthanded when Trevor Letowski drew a four-minute high sticking penalty against Sean Avery at 4:22 of the period.

But it didn't matter. This time, Daniel Sedin stripped Lubomir Visnovsky of the puck deep in the Kings' zone. Sedin fed brother Henrik, who beat Storr for the Canucks' second goal.

Naslund put the game away when he got the puck in open ice and skated in untouched on Storr. Naslund went to his backhand and poked the puck in to make it 4-1.

It has been that way for the high-flying Canucks, who have been among the top three teams in the West all season. They finally ended Colorado's long string of division titles in the Northwest.

Many think the Canucks have built on the confidence of winning the first two games of their first-round series last year against eventual-Stanley Cup champion Detroit.

They lead the NHL with 260 goals.

``We just have a good feeling going into every game,'' veteran Trevor Linden said. ``We've had that momentum all season.''

They not only are getting career years from their top line of Naslund, Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison, but that unit did not miss a game all season.

At this point, the Canucks were only looking to stay healthy. Late in the second period, Sean Avery got into it with Bertuzzi, or more specifically, Bertuzzi's right leg. Bertuzzi has a seven-inch height advantage and shook his leg to get rid of Avery.

In the final two minutes of the game, the crowd got its biggest chance to cheer all night when newcomer Jon Sim knocked down Marek Malik.

But the game was not won on a fight card. The Kings are going home a week from today and the Canucks are moving on.

Their first stop might be Anaheim.

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Photo:

Brad Chartrand, right, and the Kings were left reaching all night in a 5-1 loss to Vancouver on Saturday.

Edna T. Simpson/Daily News