Dionne Tops 100 Points Again as Penguins Fall, 6-0

King center Marcel Dionne added another National Hockey League record to his collection Tuesday night as the Kings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-0, before 10,166 fans at the Forum.

Dionne went over the 100-point mark in the first period when he assisted on a goal by center Bernie Nicholls. He received a standing ovation.

It was the eighth time in Dionne’s 13-year career that he has scored at least 100 points. He held the old NHL mark of seven 100-point seasons.

“I’m a little bit disappointed in my play,” Dionne said. “I haven’t been sharp the last couple of weeks. But tonight I felt confident. I needed this game to get going.

“I think I was not sharp in the last couple of games. I’d like to get it back and finish out the season strong.”

Said King Coach Pat Quinn of Dionne: “His consistency in his statistics is amazing. He’s one of the great athletes the game has seen.”

Dionne finished with three points. After assisting on Nicholls’ goal, Dionne scored his 37th goal of the season late in the first period and assisted on a second-period goal by Brian MacLellan.

It’s impossible to figure out the Kings. They looked lifeless Sunday night and were shut out for the first time this season, 7-0, by the Calgary Flames.

But they looked sharp just 48 hours later and posted their second shutout of the season.

Goalie Bob Janecyk, who was pulled in the first period of Sunday’s game after giving up four goals, played well against the Penguins, making 21 saves to get his second NHL career shutout. He was also in the nets when the Kings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-0, on Nov. 3.

“The guys played tremendous,” Janecyk said. “I owe them my shutout. I only had to make a couple of hard saves all night.”

Janecyk (20-17-5) is only three wins shy of matching the number of games won by the Kings last season. His 20 wins are the most by a King goalie since Mario Lessard won 35 in 1980-81. Janecyk is 6-2 in his last eight games.

“From a confidence standpoint, he’s come a long way,” Quinn said of his rookie goalie.

Pittsburgh’s best scoring chance came in the second period when rookie left wing Warren Young hit the post on a shot.

“(Mario) Lemieux shot it, and I was playing the shot,” Janecyk said. “I didn’t know where he (Young) was. The puck caught me on the leg and it hit the post.”

The win helped the Kings (30-25-11) climb to within two points of the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames, who are tied for second place in the Smythe Division. The Edmonton Oilers beat the Flames, 5-3, Tuesday night at Calgary.

The Penguins had one final chance to get on the scoreboard after Kings defenseman Mark Hardy was penalized two minutes for holding with 2:32 left. But the Kings killed the penalty.

Leading 4-0 after the second period, the Kings scored twice in the final period.

King right wing Jim Fox made it 5-0 when he scored with 9:02 left in the third period off a pass from Nicholls.

Hardy got the final goal of the game when he scored on a power play with 4:06 left in the third period, off a pass from left wing Dave Taylor, who had three assists.

The Penguins (21-37-5), who are battling the New York Rangers for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division, fell six points behind the idle Rangers.

The Penguins started rookie goalie Roberto Romano, who lost to the Kings, 4-3, on Feb. 1 at Pittsburgh.

Romano is Pittsburgh’s goalie of the future, but he’s not playing that well now.

Romano gave up three goals on 12 shots in the first period as the Kings took a 3-0 lead into the second period.

The Kings, meanwhile, wasted little time getting on the board.

King left wing Steve Shutt was penalized for high sticking at 3:23 of the first period, giving the Penguins a power play.

But the Kings scored a shorthanded goal to take a 1-0 lead at 5:27 as rookie defenseman Garry Galley scored his eighth goal of the season.

After Nicholls made it 2-0 with 5:16 left in the first period, Dionne got his goal with 46 seconds left in the period.

MacLellan scored his 27th goal of the season on a nice play with 12:41 left in the second period to give the Kings their 4-0 lead. Romano blocked a shot by Dionne, and the puck was lying in front of the net. MacLellan reached around a defenseman and tapped the puck into the net.

The Penguins, outshot, 28-11, in the first two periods, just missed a chance to score a goal when left wing Warren Young hit the left goal post on a shot with 4:19 remaining in the second period.

King Notes

The Kings play the Vancouver Canucks Friday night at Vancouver before returning to the Forum for a four-game homestand starting Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres. There will be a hockey game between the media and a group of Hollywood stars at 1:30 p.m.