NHL Roundup : Lafleur Honored, but Sabres Win, 4-3

The Montreal Canadiens gave a party for former great Guy Lafleur Saturday night at Montreal, but the Buffalo Sabres celebrated.

Buffalo defenseman Phil Housley scored the decisive goal midway through the game and Sean McKenna scored twice to give the Sabres a 4-3 victory and sole possession of first place in the Adams Division, two points ahead of Montreal.

Before the game, Lafleur’s No. 10 was retired in a tribute. He played his last game in November.

“I think that ceremony gave us the incentive to win,” said Buffalo Coach Scotty Bowman, Lafleur’s first professional coach. “We had to stand around for a half an hour before the game started, but I was happy that the younger players were able to see what a great player Lafleur was.”

Housley snapped a 3-3 tie at 9:43 of the second period with a shot from the blue line past Montreal goalie Steve Penney.

Calgary 8, Winnipeg 4--Lanny McDonald celebrated his 32nd birthday with two goals and two assists at Calgary as the Flames moved past the Jets into second place by one point in the Smythe Division.

Philadelphia 5, Edmonton 4--Tim Young’s goal midway through the third period gave the Flyers the win at Philadelphia and improved their record against the Oilers to 7-0-1 in their last eight games. The Oilers have not won on Spectrum ice since Nov. 14, 1982.

St. Louis 6, Minnesota 4--Joe Mullen and Rob Ramage scored two goals each and Brian Sutter chipped in a goal and two assists at St. Louis, keeping the Blues on a surge. In their last nine games, the Norris Division-leading Blues are 7-0-2 and have extended their lead over second-place Chicago to nine points.

Detroit 7, Chicago 4--Claude Loiselle, playing his 11th game since being recalled from the American Hockey League on Jan. 20, scored two goals to lead the Red Wing victory at Detroit. It was the first loss for the Black Hawks since General Manager Bob Pulford took over the coaching duties after Orval Tessier was fired.

Quebec 8, Pittsburgh 1--Michel Goulet, Brent Ashton and Brad Maxwell each scored goals in a 29-second stretch of the second period as the Nordiques romped to the win at Pittsburgh.

Vancouver 3, Boston 2--Thomas Gradin scored 26 seconds into overtime to give the Canucks the win at Vancouver. Gradin picked up a loose puck just inside the Boston blue line and beat Pete Peeters from in close for the game-winner.

New York Islanders 4, Hartford 4--Tomas Jonsson’s power-play goal with 2:34 left in the third period the Islanders to salvage the tie at Uniondale, N.Y.

New Jersey 6, Toronto 3--Tim Higgins, Ullrich Hiemer and Phil Russell scored in a team-record 42-second span midway through the game at Toronto to lead the Devils to the victory.