NHL Roundup : A Rarity: Bruins Are Shut Out at Home

Tom Barrasso, playing the way he did last season, stopped 20 shots Thursday night and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins, 3-0. It was the first time the Bruins have been shut out at home in 298 games.

The Bruins had not been held scoreless at Boston Garden since Ken Dryden of Montreal did it Oct. 6, 1977.

After his sensational rookie season, Barrasso was being compared to Dryden. But after a slow start this season there was talk of a sophomore jinx.

The talk has been forgotten. In turning in his third shutout in the last nine games, Barrasso helped the Sabres extend their unbeaten streak to nine games (8-0-1), all with Barrasso in the nets. The Sabres moved to within two points of Montreal in the Adams Division.

Barrasso has yielded only 16 goals in the last nine games. His three shutouts give him the league lead.

“I feel I’m playing better,” Barrasso said, “but part of the reason is Jim Schoenfeld. Since he joined us right after Christmas, we haven’t lost a game. He’s a veteran defenseman who has settled a young team down.”

Giles Hamel and Mike Foligno scored goals two minutes apart near the middle of the second period and made it a little easier for Barrasso. Brent Peterson scored the last goal into an empty net.

Edmonton 5, Montreal 2--Wayne Gretzky scored his 43rd goal and assisted on two other goals at Montreal to lead the Oilers to their fourth win in a row. The slumping Canadiens are winless in their six games.

Jari Kurri took a pass from Gretzky to open the scoring before the game was five minutes old. Montreal held a 2-1 lead until Gretzky started a four-goal Oilers’ spurt.

New York Islanders 3, New Jersey 2--Things are looking up for the Islanders. It appears that Bryan Trottier, hampered by knee problems for almost two years, is back in form.

In this game at East Rutherford, N.J., Trottier scored two goals for the second game in a row.

Philadelphia 6, Chicago 1--Brian Propp scored a goal and assisted on two others at Philadelphia to help the Flyers pull back into a tie with Washington for first place in the Patrick Division.

Propp broke a 1-1 tie with just 56 seconds remaining in the second period with a blast from the top of the left face-off circle. The Flyers broke it open with four goals in the third period, one of them a short-handed goal by Mark Howe.

St. Louis 5, Minnesota 3--Joe Mullen’s second goal of the game snapped a tie early in the third period at Bloomington, Minn., and the Blues went on to gain the victory.

The Blues moved to within one point of the Black Hawks in the battle for first place in the Norris Division.