NHL Roundup : Hapless Maple Leafs Beaten by Boston, 5-3

Autumn may be long gone, but the Leafs are still falling in Toronto.

The hapless Maple Leafs lost their 30th game of the season and their seventh in a row Wednesday night when they were beaten at home by the Boston Bruins, 5-3. Toronto has the league’s worst record at 6-30-5.

Owner Ballard Smith, 81, did little to raise team morale with his comments Wednesday in the Toronto Globe and Mail.

“Toronto is the flagship of the NHL, but it’s got so many damn holes in it that you can’t bail fast enough,” Smith said.

“A lot of guys should be scared to hold out their hands on payday. At least I’ll save money on bonuses this year.”

The mounting frustration in Maple Leaf Gardens was underscored early in the third period Wednesday when an usher behind the penalty box took off his hat, tie and jacket and tossed them onto the ice before raising his arms and walking out of the building.

Center Butch Goring, playing his first game for Boston since being claimed on waivers from the New York Islanders on Tuesday, gave the Bruins a 4-3 advantage en route to their seventh victory in the last eight games.

Washington 4, St. Louis 2--Bob Gould broke a 1-1 tie with an unassisted goal at 1:24 of the third period at St. Louis, and Mike McEwen added a power-play goal 11 minutes later to help the Capitals to their fifth win in six games and move them back atop the Patrick Division standings.

Pittsburgh 7, Vancouver 4--Kevin McCarthy started a third-period rally with two goals, and Doug Shedden and Warren Young followed with one each to lift the Penguins to a come-from-behind home victory over the Canucks at Pittsburgh.

John Chabot had two goals and an assist for Pittsburgh, while Moe Mantha also added three points on a goal and two assists.

Winnipeg 6, New York Rangers 5--Jets’ captain Dale Hawerchuk scored his second goal of the game 3:50 into overtime to snap the Rangers’ four-game unbeaten streak and give Winnipeg its first victory in seven games.

Hawerchuk converted a rebound with a backhander from 10 feet in front of Ranger goalie John Vanbiesbrouck for the winning goal. The center had sent the game into overtime when he scored during a goalmouth scramble with 37 seconds left in regulation.

Chicago 4, Minnesota 3--Center Denis Savard scored one of three first-period goals for Chicago and assisted on a second-period score to lead the Black Hawks the home win over the North Stars.

The victory was the fourth in last seven games for Chicago.