Gretzky Adds to Point Total and to King Slump : Oiler Star’s Two Goals, Two Assists Help Send L.A. to Fifth Loss in Row, 6-3

Center Wayne Gretzky had another routine night (for him), scoring two goals and two assists to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 6-3 win over the slumping Kings Wednesday night before a crowd of 17,226 at the Northlands Coliseum.

Gretzky, who had the game-winning goal, extended his scoring streak to 16 consecutive games. He leads the National Hockey League in scoring with 181 points on 47 goals and 134 assists, only one assist short of the league record he set last season.

“I’m getting close to the record, and I hope to get it in the next game (Friday night against Pittsburgh),” Gretzky said. “I’ve got a good chance to finish the season with two assists a game. But if I get a chance, I’ll shoot rather than pass off for an assist.”

Despite their fifth straight win, the Oilers, who have won two straight Stanley Cups and have the best record in the NHL this season (46-14-6), weren’t at their best against the Kings.

“We were a little tired from our game last night in Vancouver because we had to get up early,” Gretzky said. “We got a lead and tried to hold on, and Grant (Fuhr) made some big saves for us.”

Gretzky scored his first goal of the game on a power play at 16:19 of the second period, beating King goalie Roland Melanson on a shot from the slot. He scored his second goal on a 45-foot slapshot at 8:19 of the third period.

Gretzky could have had three goals, but he missed the net on a breakaway in the first period.

“That long shot was Wayne’s first lucky goal in the last two months,” said Glen Sather, the Oiler co-coach and general manager. “I think Wayne was mad that he missed the breakaway.”

The Oilers scored on all three of their power plays against the Kings, who are next to last in the league in penalty-killing.

“We’ve been working extra hard on power plays in practice since they took the four-on-four away,” Gretzky said. “Our power play is going to be a big factor in the playoffs.”

Fuhr, making his fourth start in goal in the last five games, is unbeaten in his last six games. He has an overall record of 23-7-0.

Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson and Craig MacTavish also scored for Edmonton. Mark Messier added an empty-net goal with 45 seconds left. Kurri leads the NHL with 51 goals. Defenseman Paul Coffey had three assists.

It was the fifth straight loss for the Kings, one short of their season high, and they moved into a tie for third place in the Smythe Division with the Winnipeg Jets, who beat the New York Rangers, 4-1, Wednesday night.

The Kings and Jets each have 46 points, while the Vancouver Canucks are in last place with 45 points. The Kings play the Canucks tonight at Vancouver. If the Kings lose tonight’s game, they’ll drop into last place.

“It looks like it’s going to come down to the last week of the season to see who gets that last playoff spot,” said King center Marcel Dionne, who had two assists to snap a two-game scoring slump.

Dionne needs four points to tie and five points to pass Phil Esposito and become the second-leading scorer of all-time in the NHL with 1,591 points. Dionne also needs two assists to pass Stan Mikita for second place on the all-time lead in that category.

Left wing Morris Lukowich scored two goals to lead the Kings. Center Bernie Nicholls had the other goal.

“I think Edmonton came into the game looking to fatten up on their scoring,” Lukowich said. “They didn’t play well, at all.”

The Oilers led, 3-2, at the end of the first period despite being outshot, 15-9.

Edmonton scored on its first shot of the game when Anderson got his 45th goal of the season on a power play at 5:15 of the first period. Anderson leads the team with 15 power-play goals. Coffey and left wing Esa Tikkanen assisted on the goal.

But the Kings tied it at 1-1 with 11:27 left in the first period when Lukowich scored his ninth goal of the season on a rebound while Fuhr was out of the net.

However, the Oilers scored two goals in 17 seconds to take a 3-1 lead.

Kurri scored his 51st goal of the season off a pass from Gretzky on a power play with 6:05 left in the period. Coffey also got an assist on the play.

MacTavish took advantage of a King defensive lapse to score with 5:48 left in the second period.

However, Nicholls got his 31st goal of the season on a power play off a pass from right wing Jim Fox with 4:01 left to narrow the gap to one goal going into the second period.

Gretzky scored the only goal in the second period on a power play when he beat Melanson with 3:41 left to give the Oilers a 4-2 lead going into the third period.

The Oilers outshot the Kings, 13-4, in the second period.

King defenseman Grant Ledyard had to be helped off the ice after he was checked into the boards by Messier at the end of the second period.

“He just caught me with a good check,” Ledyard said.

King Notes The Kings announced that they have put Len Hachborn on waivers. Hachborn had played in 24 games, scoring 4 goals. . . . After tonight’s game in Vancouver, the Kings return home to play host to the Edmonton Oilers Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Forum. . . . Free agent center Bob Mongrain made his debut for the Kings. Mongrain had played for a Swiss team in Zurich. He played his last game Saturday and then took a plane to Montreal on Sunday. He flew here Tuesday.