NHL Roundup : Gretzky Becomes Youngest Player Ever to Score 400 Goals

Wayne Gretzky became the youngest player to score 400 goals in National Hockey League history Sunday at Buffalo, but it took two third-period goals by Mark Messier to give the Edmonton Oilers a 5-4 victory and end the Sabres’ 10-game unbeaten streak.

The Sabres, losing for only the second time at home this season, took a 4-3 lead early in the final period on Dave Andreychuk’s 20th goal. But halfway through the period Messier tied the score.

With less than a minute remaining, Messier, who scored 37 goals last season, blasted a shot past Tom Barrasso from close range for his ninth goal and victory for the Oilers.

Gretzky, who will be 24 on Jan. 26, scored his 44th goal of the season with less than a minute remaining in the second period to tie the game at 3-3. It gave the magnificent scoring machine 400 goals in just 426 games to break still another record.

Just a year ago Mike Bossy scored his 400th goal and it came in his 506th game. It’s just one more record that Bossy set only to have Gretzky come along and break.

Gretzky is the 23rd player to score 400 goals. The talented center also assisted on the first two goals, so he now has 80 assists in 43 games. He is about to wrap up another scoring title and needs only 77 points in 37 games to reach 200 points for the third time in the last four seasons.

Just as so many of his others were, the 400th was a thing of beauty. He skated from the blue line, worked his way through several Sabres and scored from a difficult angle, lifting the puck through a small opening near the crossbar.

It may be the last game Messier plays for a while. In mid-December, in a fight, Messier broke the jaw of Calgary’s Jamie Macoun. He is expected to hear his penalty, probably a suspension, today. Coach Scotty Bowman of the Sabres feels the league took a long time to hand down the penalty.

“It’s being handled very badly,” Bowman said. “It’s taken 18 days already. That’s too long.”

New York Islanders 6, Chicago 5--Veteran goaltender Billy Smith gave up three goals in the middle of the third period at Chicago, but he blocked a penalty shot by Doug Wilson that would have tied the game and went on to save the victory.

The Islanders built a 6-2 lead in the first two periods, but the Black Hawks fought back in the final period. In the last minute, after pulling their goalie, they stormed around the net, just failing to get a tie.

The Islanders went into the game without seven injured players. The Hawks threatened to catch up, losing Curt Fraser, with a fractured jaw in an altercation with the fiery Smith, and goalie Murray Bannerman, with a shoulder injury, in the first period.

Philadelphia 7, Calgary 1--Before he was ejected from the game with nine minutes left at Philadelphia, Brian Propp had assured the Flyers of the victory that enabled them to take sole possession of first place in the Patrick Division.

Propp, who has scored at least one point in nine consecutive games, had a hat trick before the game was 28 minutes old. He and Calgary’s Tim Hunter squared off in the third period in a battle that signaled the clearing of both benches. Both were among those tossed out.

It was the fourth time in six seasons that Propp has scored three goals in a game and the third time he has done it against the Flames.

The Flames, shut out for the first time in 265 games by Quebec Friday night, avoided another one when Dan Quinn scored in the second period.

Quebec 5, Detroit 2--Peter Stastny scored two goals and assisted on the other three Nordique goals at Quebec as they handed the Red Wings their sixth defeat in a row. The Red Wings are 3-17-2 on the road, worst in the NHL.

Two of Peter’s assists came on goals by his brother Anton.

The Wings’ Tiger Williams was given a 10-minute misconduct for spraying water on fans in back of the bench. A women fan was ejected for spraying perfume on the Wings.

Toronto 5, Vancouver 3--John Anderson scored two goals within a span of 2:34 in the second period at Vancouver to break a 2-2 tie and help the Maple Leafs win the battle between the teams with the two worst records in the NHL. Toronto had lost its previous seven games.