NHL Roundup : Perreault Assists a 3-2 Win

In his 16th season in the National Hockey League, Gil Perreault shows no signs of losing either his blinding speed or his zest for the sport.

Perreault, who will be 35 on Nov. 13, has been the star of the Buffalo Sabres from the time he joined the club in 1970 as the first player selected in the draft.

Under new Coach Jim Schoenfeld, who starred as a defensive defenseman, the Sabres are trying to build up more scoring power. Schoenfeld couldn’t find a better man to lead the attack than the veteran center.

Perreault, the 13th all-time scorer, had his 484th goal and a brilliant assist Sunday night at Buffalo to lead the Sabres to a 3-2 win over the Minnesota North Stars.

It was one of the most one-sided one-goal games of the season. The Sabres dominated most of the game. After building a 3-0 lead in less than 14 minutes of play, they kept on firing away at goaltender Don Beaupre, but couldn’t score again.

Meanwhile Sabre goalie Tom Barrasso was almost lulled into trouble because of inactivity. While the Sabres pounded Beaupre with 45 shots, the North Stars had only 17 in 60 minutes.

Neal Broten scored both Minnesota goals. His first, midway through the second period, ruined Barrasso’s bid for a shutout. The other came with just 28 seconds remaining when the North Stars removed Beaupre and had an extra attacker on the ice.

The Sabres scored on a fluke goal 45 seconds after the opening faceoff when Dave Andreychuk’s shot deflected off Minnesota defenseman Dave Richter into the net. After that Perreault took charge.

The Sabres’ second goal was the result of Perreault’s hustle and skill. He took the puck away from a North Star player inside the blue line. When he was forced into the right corner, Perreault spotted linemate Mike Foligno heading for the net. Perreault put a perfect pass onto the stick of Foligno who directed the puck into the net for an easy goal.

Later in the period, with the Sabres enjoying a two-man advantage, Perreault put a fake on defenseman Dave Langevin and beat Beaupre with a backhand blast on the goalie’s glove side.

The assist was Perreault’s 777th and put him eighth on the all-time list.

New York Rangers 2, Boston 1--Defenseman Barry Beck’s 100th NHL goal was more than just an ordinary game-winning score. The veteran blueliner’s first goal of the season early in the third period at New York ended a nine-game winless string against the Bruins.

Since beating the Bruins in February, 1982, the Rangers had gone 0-6-3 against them.

Beck’s goal came just nine seconds after the Bruins’ Gord Kluzak was sent off for a hooking penalty. He took a cross-ice pass from Reijo Ruotsalainen at the right point and blasted a shot past goaltender Pete Peeters.

Kluzak was also in the penalty box when Mark Pavelich scored the other Ranger goal late in the first period.

Winnipeg 5, Detroit 3--Just when the Red Wings thought they were going to win their first game of the season, the Jets erupted for three goals in 71 seconds in the third period at Winnipeg.

The Red Wings (0-8-1) had a 3-1 lead until Dale Hawerchuk and Paul MacLean scored goals 18 seconds apart to tie the game. MacLean’s goal came at 3:38 and 53 seconds later, Perry Turnbull scored the winning goal. Turnbull also scored the final goal to give him six in the last three games.

It was the Red Wings’ eighth defeat in a row after a tie in their opener. The Jets (5-3-1) are unbeaten in their last six games and trail Edmonton by only one point in the Smythe Division.

Washington 4, Chicago 2--Gaetan Duchesne and Mark Taylor scored goals just six seconds apart in the first half-minute at Chicago to lead the Capitals to victory.

Duchesne scored 23 seconds after the opening faceoff and Taylor, just called up from the minors, scored almost immediately after the ensuing faceoff.

Philadelphia 7, Vancouver 4--Ilkka Sinisalo had two goals and an assist at Philadelphia to lead the Flyers to their fourth victory in a row. Murray Craven also scored twice for the Patrick Division leaders.