Kings Score 6-4 Victory as Winnipeg Rally Falls Short

Holding off a third-period rally by the Winnipeg Jets, the Kings scored a 6-4 victory Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 16,005 at the Forum.

The win moved the Kings to within two points of the third-place Jets in the National Hockey League’s Smythe Division.

The Kings led, 4-2, going into the third period on goals by Steve Shutt, Marcel Dionne, John Paul Kelly and Mark Hardy, but the Jets closed it to 4-3 with 8:04 left when right wing Paul MacLean scored a power-play goal.

The Kings were two-men short after Dionne was called on a roughing penalty with 9:21 left and defenseman Brian Engbloom got a minor penalty for using an illegal stick. Officials explained that Engbloom’s stick had too much curve.

However, the Kings took a 5-3 lead with 3:06 left when defenseman Rick LaPointe scored his third goal of the season.

The Jets pulled goalie Brian Hayward in the last minute to add an extra skater and the move paid off when the Robert Picard scored with 41 seconds left to close the gap to 5-4.

Hayward re-entered the game after the Jets called a 30-second timeout.

However, Kings right wing Jim Fox scored with 13 seconds left to seal the win.

The Jets went into a slump after playing the Kings last month in Winnipeg, losing six of their last seven games.

They got off to a fast start against the Kings Saturday, however, scoring on the first shot of the game.

Defenseman Randy Carlyle took a good pass from right wing MacLean and beat Janecyk for his sixth goal of the season just 1:15 into the game.

But the Kings responded with a pair of power-play goals to take a 2-1 lead into the second period.

A hooking penalty on Jet center Laurie Boschman at the five-minute mark gave the Kings their first power play. Center Doug Smith set up Shutt with a crisp pass in front of the net, and Shutt had little difficulty scoring his 12th goal of the season to tie it up at 1-1.

The Kings then had a two-man advantage for 1:22 midway through the first period after penalties to Winnipeg left wing Morris Lukowich and defenseman Dave Ellett. Lukowich was penalized for taking a swing with his stick at King defenseman Jay Wells, apparently in retaliation for a hard check by Wells along the boards, and Ellett received a two-minute penalty for hooking Smith.

Dionne picked up a loose puck in the left corner and rushed the net, scoring his 26th goal of the season to give the Kings a 2-1 lead with 7:42 left in the first period. Dionne needs just one more goal to tie Bobby Hull for third place on the all-time NHL career scoring list with 610.

Both goalies played well in the first two periods. Janecyk made 29 saves for the Kings, while Winnipeg’s Hayward had 12.

Just 1:31 into the second period, left wing Kelly scored his third goal of the season when he tipped in a shot by Anders Hakansson to give the Kings a 3-1 lead. It was the first goal Kelly has scored since Oct. 31.

However, Jet left wing Doug Smail scored just 40 seconds later to close the gap to 3-2.

Hardy gave the Kings a two-goal lead again when he scored on a rebound of a shot by Dionne with 7:33 left in the second period.

The Kings dominated the second period, outshooting the Jets 18-8.

With 5:16 left in the second period, the fans got involved in the action. Winnipeg center Perry Turnbull, apparently angered when the fans cheered a delay of the game penalty on Jet defenseman Ellett that gave the Kings a five-on-three power play, squirted water on three fans seated behind the bench. The fans yelled something at Turnbull and were later escorted to different seats by Forum officials.

However, the Kings, who had scored on two of their first three power plays, failed to score during their second two-man advantage of the game.

King Notes The Kings play the Jets again tonight at the Forum at 7:30. . . . The sellout crowd was the Kings fifth in 19 home games this seaason. Last season they had four sellouts in 40 home games.