NHL ROUNDUP : Dionne’s Hat Trick Gives Canadiens a 4-1 Victory

Marcel Dionne was an instant success in the NHL and a unanimous selection for the Hall of Fame.

His younger brother Gilbert is trying to emerge from the shadow of the former Kings’ star.

He seems to be succeeding.

The 21-year-old rookie left wing scored three consecutive goals Wednesday night at Bloomington, Minn., to lead the hot Montreal Canadiens to a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota North Stars.

It was Dionne’s first hat trick and enabled the Canadiens, runaway leaders in the Adams Division, to extend their unbeaten string to eight games (5-0-3).

The score was 1-1 when Dionne, playing in only his 24th game since being called up in December, scored his ninth goal with 1:36 left in the second period. Only 24 seconds later he scored again. Dionne completed the hat trick at 7:21 of the third period on a power play.

Young Dionne has impressed Coach Pat Burns.

“He’s got that certain touch around the net that you can’t teach,” Burns said. “He has that knack for having his stick in the right place at the right time.”

Dionne has 11 goals in his 24 games and has 16 points in the last 14 games.

Edmonton 6, Winnipeg 1--Petr Klima gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead midway through the first period, but it was a shorthanded goal by Kelly Buchberger early in the second period that deflated the Jets at Edmonton.

The Oilers had five goals before Winnipeg finally broke through early in the final period. Edmonton goaltender Bill Ranford stopped 30 shots.

The victory put the Oilers two points ahead of the Jets and two points behind the second-place Kings.

San Jose 7, Quebec 4--Playing an expansion team and the team with the worst record in the league seemed an opportunity for the Nordiques to end their season-long winless streak on the road.

Instead, with Brian Lawton scoring twice, the Sharks scored the first six goals in the first 34 minutes and held off a late Quebec rally.

The defeat gave the Nordiques an 0-24-8 record on the road. They have eight more road games, but all of them against teams with better records than the Sharks.