Calgary Hands Kings Their Seventh Straight Loss on Home Ice, 5-1

When it comes time to make up the Kings’ schedule next season, maybe they should ask the National Hockey League if they could play all their games away from home.

It certainly wouldn’t hurt because the Kings have been dreadful at home this season.

They tied a 16-year-old club record for most home losses in one season Sunday night with a 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames in front of 9,059 fans at the Forum.

Told that his club had tied the record of 22 set during the 1969-70 season, Kings Coach Pat Quinn said, “No comment.”

“Our home should be our castle,” Quinn said. “But maybe it’s good to get away. I never thought I’d say that. Games here have taken their toll emotionally on the team.”

Most of the fans left early after the Flames scored three consecutive goals in the third period, but one fan who stayed until the end wore a paper bag over his head as he left the Forum.

“Naturally, we’re not happy with it (the record) or proud of it,” Kings captain Dave Taylor said. “I don’t know how to explain it. We’ve already tried a bunch of things and nothing seems to work. If we could play better at home, we would have already clinched third place in the Smythe Division.

“We seem to have a mental block here. I think all we need is a couple of wins.”

The Kings, who are 7-22-3 at the Forum this season, have the worst home record in the National Hockey League. They have eight home games left.

And they’re also working on tying the club record for most consecutive home losses. They have now lost seven straight games here since beating the Minnesota North Stars on Jan. 29. The club record for most consecutive home losses is eight, set from Oct. 13, 1971 to Nov. 6, 1971. And that record could fall next Sunday afternoon, when the Kings play their next home game against the two-time Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers.

Said Kings defenseman Mark Hardy: “What can I say? Yes, it’s frustrating. All I can say is that we have to keep our heads up and work to win at home. I don’t know what the answer is. It seems like we play well and then all of a sudden, bang.”

About the only good news for the Kings is that they play their next two games on the road, where they have a 13-16-3 record, sixth best in the NHL.

Calgary had little trouble extending its unbeaten streak against the Kings to 12 straight (11-0-1) games dating back to last season. The Kings haven’t beaten Calgary since Dec. 18, 1984.

Flames goalie Reggie Lemelin also stretched his personal unbeaten streak against the Kings to 9-0-1 dating back to last season. Lemelin made 27 saves.

“It seems like we have their number,” Lemelin said. “Their confidence has to be at a low point.

“They seem to have a mysterious problem at home. But we’re just one team that has taken advantage of it.”

If the Kings (20-38-6) can hang onto third place in the Smythe Division, they’ll meet the Flames (32-25-7) in the first round of the playoffs.

King center Marcel Dionne, who had a 13-game scoring streak snapped in a 6-4 loss to Montreal Saturday night, was held scoreless again Sunday.

The Kings, who have the worst power play in the league, failed to score on five power plays against Calgary.

They had a five-on-three power play for 1 minute 41 seconds in the first period, but they couldn’t take advantage of it.

The Flames led, 2-0, at the end of the first period on goals by defenseman Terry Johnson and left wing Joey Mullen.

However, the Kings closed it to 2-1 when right wing Bryan Erickson scored off a pass from center Bernie Nicholls at 17:37 of the second period.

The Flames then scored two consecutive goals against goalie Rollie Melanson just 43 seconds apart in the third period to break the game open.

It was the second straight game in which the Kings have folded in the final period.

Melanson, who allowed three straight goals after he replaced starter Bob Janecyk in the third period of Saturday night’s loss to Montreal, has allowed eight goals in his last four periods.

Left wing Richard Kromm scored an unassisted goal at 5:16 of the third period to make it 3-1. And center Carey Wilson scored his 26th goal of the season off a pass from Steve Bozek at 5:59.

Right wing Hakan Loob scored his 22nd goal of the season on an breakaway with 3:15 left in the game.

The Kings, who have lost four straight games overall, remained one point ahead of the idle Vancouver Canucks in the Smythe Division.

King Notes

King defenseman Larry Playfair will be out for a minimum of four to six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair ligament damage in his left knee. He was hurt when he was checked by Montreal’s Chris Nilan in Saturday night’s 6-4 loss to the Canadiens.