NHL Roundup : Gretzky Hat Trick Lets Jets Know He Is Still the Boss

Wayne Gretzky let the Winnipeg Jets know he is still boss of the Smythe Division.

In an early showdown for division honors, the smooth-skating star of the Edmonton Oilers had a hat trick in less than 22 minutes Wednesday night at Winnipeg and led the Oilers to a 7-4 victory.

Gretzky, in scoring three goals or more in a game for the 40th time, enabled the Oilers to increase their lead to five points over the Jets. They completed a trip with a 3-1-0 record, and Gretzky extended his scoring streak to 14 games.

He has 27 goals to tie Dino Ciccarelli for the lead and is 25 points ahead of the Minnesota star in the scoring race with 61 points.

Gretzky opened his burst with his third short-handed goal of the season just 30 seconds after the opening faceoff. He also scored on a 30-foot screen shot in the first period and again in the second minute of the second.

Gretzky’s third goal gave Edmonton a 4-0 lead, but the Jets battled back to score the next three goals. Steve Graves ended the rally by scoring to restore a 5-3 lead.

Hartford 6, St. Louis 2--The Whalers were 0-for-December on the power play until the Blues arrived in Hartford.

They ended the slump by scoring four times with the man advantage and breezed to the victory that put them into second place in the battle for the lead in the Adams Division.

Steve Weeks had to stop only 18 St. Louis shots to run his lifetime record against the Blues to 6-0-1.

Toronto 8, Washington 2--Miroslav Ihnacak, Brad Smith and Jeff Jackson each scored his first goal of the season in this game at Toronto to help the Maple Leafs end a four-game losing streak.

It was a 2-2 tie until the middle of the second period when Smith scored in his 18th game. From then on the Maple Leafs were in complete charge.

“I’d be lying to you if I told you I wasn’t happy to get that one,” Smith said.

Chicago 6, Buffalo 3--Wayne Presley scored two goals and had an assist at Chicago in a win over the slumping Sabres. In their last 15 games, the Sabres are 1-12-2.

The Blackhawks led from the time Steve Larmer cashed in on the first shot just 1:52 after the opening faceoff.

Calgary 6, Pittsburgh 4--Steve Bozek and Carey Wilson scored goals less than four minutes apart early in the third period at Pittsburgh to give the Flames the victory.