Veteran King Gives Heirs a 4-3 Victory : Dionne Scores Twice as L.A. Beats Jets for Second Win in Row

Since training camp opened, Marcel Dionne has made it his project to tutor the Kings’ rookie forwards, Luc Robitaille and Jimmy Carson.

He has taught them well. Robitaille is leading all rookie scorers in the National Hockey League, and Carson is fourth. But they still have something to learn, and Dionne, in his 16th year in the league, still has a few tricks to teach.

Some lessons are better performed than explained, as Dionne showed Tuesday night. The 35-year-old center scored two goals, including the game-winner, in the Kings’ 4-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets before 7,457 fans in the Forum.

Dionne was the spark in a solid performance by all the Kings.

“He’s really been strong for us,” King Coach Pat Quinn said of Dionne. “The gleam is in his eyes. He was so excited during training camp, passing on his wealth of knowledge. He’s really helped out the club, especially the youngsters.”

The Kings’ youngsters have been scoring the goals and making the assists that Dionne used to. And they have been drawing the postgame interviewers that used to flock to Dionne’s cubicle.

Despite their impressive statistics, however, Robitaille and Carson have yet to draw the double- and triple-teaming that Dionne still does.

“The teams still put their checking lines on me, but they can’t stop everybody,” Dionne said. “I’m more relaxed now. I don’t feel like I have the same kind of pressure. I don’t have to look over my shoulder.”

With the burden of scoring the bulk of the King goals lifted, Dionne has been a more freewheeling, open player this season. If he has the puck and draws a defender, he can pass to linemate Robitaille and the Kings can still score.

But Dionne barely needed the rest of his line Tuesday night, scoring his two goals nearly single-handedly.

After the Jets took their first lead of the game, 3-2, on a goal by Jim Kyte at 8:48 of the third period, Dionne pupil Carson tied it on a quick shot 20 seconds later.

The Kings, who are 5-10-1, have been horrible at holding leads this season and awkward at coming from behind. But Dionne’s goal at 12:41 made it two games in a row that they have battled back to win.

Dionne scored on a King breakout that came into the Jet zone as a four-on-two. Dionne faked a pass and drilled a shot high up the middle for the winning goal.

The Jets, who are 8-6-1 after having their four-game winning streak snapped, slipped into third place behind Calgary in the Smythe Division. And the Kings passed Vancouver, which lost to Calgary, and moved into fourth place. Tuesday night’s game was the first of a two-game series with Winnipeg. The teams play again at the Forum Thursday night.

The first period was a defensive show, which makes coaches happy but makes for less than thrilling hockey to watch.

The King forwards did in the first period what Quinn believes it will take to cut the team’s goals against: They checked their opponents as the Jets entered the King zone and stayed there to help out.

“We got a strong game from our forwards,” Quinn said. “They had a strong contribution to our defense tonight.”

The second period was drastically different, in tempo and outcome. Two goals were scored by each team, and the tight checking and close defensive play grew more dim with each goal.

The Kings scored first as Bernie Nicholls skated up the right wing, carrying Jet Brian Mullen, who was checking him closely. Nicholls’ shot on goal went over the right shoulder of Winnipeg goaltender Daniel Berthiaume and into the net at 2:10.

Then the defenses began to fray. The Kings’ went first. Defenseman Jay Wells intercepted a pass at the red line and, instead of skating with the puck or passing it, he stickhandled it just long enough to give Winnipeg’s Dale Hawerchuk a chance to barge in and steal it.

Hawerchuk took the puck alone to the King net and scored at 10:13.

Fourteen seconds later, the same play developed, but for the Kings. Dionne stole the puck from Fredrik Olausson and scored from the right side for a 2-1 King lead.

As with most King leads this season, that one evaporated almost as soon as it had formed. Jet defenseman Randy Carlyle, who had been threatening to score all night, got a clear chance at 15:37. He picked up a drop pass and had an open lane from which to shoot, as King players were guarding Jets who were without the puck.

“He got that goal because a couple of guys didn’t think for a minute,” Quinn said.

Carlyle’s goal tied it at 2-2 and ended the scoring in the second period.

King Notes The back-to-back King victories are their first this season. The last time they won back-to-back games at home was last December, when they beat Winnipeg in a two-game series. . . . Rookie Winnipeg goaltender Daniel Berthiaume was only recently recalled from the Sherbrooke Canadiens. In seven games with Sherbrooke, Berthiaume had a 3.21 goals-against average and a 4-3 record. Tuesday’s game was just his fourth NHL game. He had allowed only four goals in the three games. . . . With Edmonton’s win over the Islanders Tuesday night, the best the Jets can do is stay in second in the Smythe Division. . . . Only 23 seconds into the game, referee Don Koharski was struck in the leg with a puck. Linesman Gerard Gauthier assumed the referee’s duties.