NHL Roundup : Oilers Look Like Champions for 14 Minutes, Then Bruins Win

For a while, the Edmonton Oilers looked like last year’s Stanley Cup champions.

However, Thursday night’s 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins at Boston typified the Oilers’ season. They came out strong, then seemed to lose interest.

Coach Glenn Sather didn’t like what he saw, and told his team so in a 25-minute closed-door meeting after the game.

“The talent on this team has not changed,” Sather said. “Last year, we had a hungry hockey team. This year, maybe we’re not so hungry.”

The Oilers looked like champions until midway through the first period. They went ahead on Jari Kurri’s 70th goal at 5:49. The change started at 14:32 when Dave Reid tied it on a power-play goal.

Louis Sleigher and Rick Middleton scored goals before the period was out to give Boston a 3-1 lead, and the Oilers never caught up.

“We looked like we were ready to play the first 14 minutes of the game,” said Wayne Gretzky, who was held to two shots and one assist. “But the Bruins took it away from us, and we let them. We haven’t put together 60 minutes of hockey in three weeks.”

Quebec 4, N.Y. Islanders 2--Dale Hunter and Wilf Paiement each scored a goal and an assist as the Nordiques beat the Islanders at Quebec.

Mike Bossy scored his 57th goal for the Islanders.

Philadelphia 3, Detroit 1--Rookie Derrick Smith scored the tie-breaking goal in the third period and Todd Bergen added an insurance goal less than two minutes later as the Flyers clinched the Patrick Division title by beating the Red Wings at Philadelphia.

Montreal 5, St. Louis 1--Mario Tremblay and Lucien DeBlois each had a goal and an assist as the Canadiens downed the Blues at Montreal to stay even with Quebec for the Adams Division lead.

New Jersey 3, Washington 2--Tim Higgins scored an unassisted goal at 1:30 of the third period, and the Devils broke an eight-game losing streak by beating the Capitals at East Rutherford, N.J.