Dionne Stays on Bench for 3rd Period as Kings Lose to the Oilers Again

Is King star center Marcel Dionne on his way out?

King Coach Pat Quinn benched Dionne for the entire third period of a 7-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers Sunday afternoon before a sellout crowd of 16,005 at the Forum.

Dionne, who is four points away from passing Phil Esposito to become the second leading scorer of all-time in the National Hockey League, has been in a slump. He has just three points in his last five games, and has been held scoreless three times during that stretch, including Sunday’s loss to Edmonton.

Asked why he held Dionne out of the final 20 minutes of the game, Quinn said: “I just wanted to give our young guys a chance to play. We have to find out about our young people and we have got to play them. Most of the nights I haven’t been playing them.”

Dionne smiled when told of Quinn’s comments.

“It’s not going to get me down. I guess they needed an example. I haven’t been playing well offensively. I guess every time I go out they score a goal against me.

“I don’t think we should make an issue out of it. I’m not really surprised. I’ve been around a long time. But I wish it wouldn’t have happened at home.”

Asked if he thinks he’s going to be traded, Dionne joked: “There are just two more days until the trading deadline. Maybe that’s what we need.”

If Dionne was upset, he didn’t show it. He sat on the bench with a towel around his neck for most of the third period. But he got up toward the end of the game.

“My back got stiff sitting there because it was kind of cold,” Dionne said.

Said Glenn Sather, the Oilers’ co-coach, president and general manager: “Tell Rogie (Vachon, the Kings general manager) if he wants to send him (Dionne) to Edmonton, we can find a spot for him.”

But the Kings probably aren’t going to trade Dionne, 34, who has been here since 1975 and is the team’s career leader in points, goals and assists.

“Marcel has been around a long time,” King right wing Jim Fox said. “He’ll be back. Everybody gets down.”

King captain Dave Taylor, who plays right wing on Dionne’s line said: “Our whole line has been in a slump in the last five games.

“Marcel will snap out of it, it’s just a matter of time.”

The Kings, who are winless in their last seven games (0-6-1), set a couple of team records Sunday.

They broke a 16-year-old record for most home defeats in one season by losing for the 23rd time this season at the Forum. They have the worst home record in the NHL this season, 7-23-3.

And, they also tied the team record for most consecutive home defeats, which was set in 1971, by losing for the eighth straight time here. The Kings’ last win on home ice was a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota North Stars on Jan. 29th.

“Those are just records in frustration,” Taylor said. “We’ve definitely had problems at home this season. We’ve got a chance to change it Wednesday night against Detroit.”

The Kings, who are in fourth place in the Smythe Division, dropped three points behind the third-place Winnipeg Jets, who beat Pittsburgh, 5-3, Sunday. The Jets have 50 points while the Kings have 47, just one point ahead of the fifth place Vancouver Canucks.

The Oilers, who beat the Kings, 6-3, on Wednesday night in Edmonton, had little trouble winning the rematch.

With the score tied 3-3 in the second period, the Oilers scored four consecutive goals to put the game away. Edmonton has the best record in the NHL this season (48-14-6).

Glenn Anderson, who had three goals and two assists, scored the tiebreaking goal at 8:40 of the second period and he added an insurance goal just 59 seconds into the third period. He also scored a power-play goal at 13:01 of the third period.

It was Anderson’s fourth hat trick this season and the 15th of his career.

Anderson, who normally plays right wing, was moved to left wing for the game against the Kings.

“It (the switch to left wing) gave me a little more room to move,” Anderson said. “I wasn’t running into (King defenseman) Jay Wells all the time.

“I kept being in the right place at the right time.”

Right wing Jari Kurri added two goals as Edmonton won its seventh straight game. Kurri leads the NHL with 55 goals.

Superstar center Wayne Gretzky had one goal and three assists to extend his scoring streak to 18 consecutive games. Defenseman Paul Coffey scored the other Oilers’ goal and he also had one assist.

Gretzky leads the NHL in scoring with 187 points on 48 goals and 139 assists.

King goalie Rollie Melanson, who has lost six straight games, appeared frustrated.

Melanson smashed his stick into little pieces after Anderson scored early in the third period, and after Kurri scored the Oilers’ next goal he hit Kurri with his stick, drawing a slashing penalty.

Said Kurri: “He (Melanson) was probably upset. It didn’t hurt, though. Still, it was not a nice thing to do.”

Said Quinn: “He (Melanson) should have lost his cool with all the support he wasn’t getting. It seemed like we gave them a lot of goals. They drilled us at the end of the game. They embarrassed us.”

Said Melanson: “We gave the game away. How many words can you use to say it. I just didn’t like the way we lost that game.”

King Notes

Center Glen Currie, who has missed the entire season after suffering a herniated disc in his back on the second day of training camp last September, will join the Kings today and will be available for Wednesday’s game against Detroit. Currie was acquired by the Kings in a trade for left wing Daryl Evans on Sept. 9. Currie had returned home to Montreal after the injury. Currie began skating with the Kings’ farm team in New Haven, Conn. on Jan. 13.