NHL Roundup : Blues, Moving Nowhere but Up, Beat Chicago

Saskatchewan’s loss has become St. Louis’ gain. The Blues, who all but moved to the Canadian city when it appeared St. Louis no longer wanted them, are the hit of the season.

The Blues exploded for four goals in the first period Saturday night at St. Louis, and Rick Wamsley gave another outstanding performance in the nets, in a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks.

There were a number of standing ovations from a crowd of 18,652--largest in St. Louis since 1981--as the Blues stretched their lead in the Norris Division to six points over the Black Hawks.

The Blues have won four of their last six games and have beaten the Black Hawks, usually the dominant team in the division, three times in a row. Wamsley, a former Montreal goalie, has never lost to the Black Hawks. In this game, he stopped 25 shots and improved his record against Chicago to 5-0-1.

Dave Barr and Doug Wickenheiser scored goals a minute apart in the opening period to get the four-goal uprising under way. Brian Sutter and Greg Paslawski followed with goals.

Wamsley lost his shutout early in the second period when Black Hawk defenseman Bob Murray scored his second goal of the season.

The Blues, who are three games above .500 for the first time since the 1980-81 season, are in their 18th NHL season. Until the 1981-82 season, when they had the first of three terrible seasons, they were among the leaders in attendance.

Their play this season has brought the fans back and ended all thoughts of moving the franchise.

Winnipeg 4, Boston 3--In nine previous visits to Boston, the Jets had not won and had managed a tie only twice. But, in this day game, defenseman Randy Carlyle and Dale Hawerchuk scored second-period goals to give the Jets the lead, and they made it stand up in a hectic final period.

Boston was without two injured stars--defenseman Ray Bourque and high-scoring wing Charlie Simmer.

“This was a big win for us,” said goaltender Brian Hayward, who stopped 32 shots. “The Bruins could be missing seven or eight players and they would still be tough to beat here.”

The Jets pulled into a tie with Calgary for second place in the Smythe Division.

Edmonton 5, New York Rangers 1--For the fifth time this season, Wayne Gretzky failed to score a point. But the fellow the Oilers obtained from Boston to play on a line with the great center, Mike Krushelnyski, had a hat trick and an assist against the Rangers at Edmonton.

Krushelnyski, a hard-working forward not considered much of a scorer in three seasons at Boston, has 30 goals, five more than his previous career high.

New York Islanders 4, Pittsburgh 0--Coach Al Arbour threw an X-rated tantrum Friday night after the Islanders lost to New Jersey. Apparently, his team did not want a repeat at Pittsburgh, where the Islanders scored their second victory in the last 10 games.

Kelly Hrudey stopped 26 shots to hand the Penguins their second shutout of the season.

Detroit 6, Quebec 3--The afternoon game at Detroit was the final meeting of the season between the teams, and it’s probably just as well. The bruising battle was marred by a high-sticking incident in the third period and then a bench-clearing brawl.

With the Red Wings holding a 5-2 lead, Quebec’s Dale Hunter and Detroit’s Kelly Kisio tangled on the boards, Hunter came out with a cut around his mouth that needed 10 stitches, and Kisio was given five minutes for high-sticking and two for roughing.

When Kisio came out of the penalty box, Wilf Paiement and Peter Stastny charged him, precipitating a 20-minute bench-clearing battle. Referee Terry Gregson handed out 171 minutes in penalties, 84 of them after the brawl. Suspensions may follow.

Buffalo 6, Philadelphia 3--Veteran center Gil Perreault continued to be the key player in the Sabres’ midseason drive. In this game at Philadelphia, he assisted on three first-period goals that put the Sabres in command.

Minnesota 5, Toronto 2--The North Stars exploded for five goals in the second period at Toronto to knock out goaltender Tim Bernhardt and beat the Maple Leafs.