NHL Roundup : Oilers Surprised by Capitals, 5-2

The Edmonton Oilers have developed a knack for scoring short-handed goals. They set a National Hockey League record with 36 in the 1983-84 season, then came right back with 25 last season.

In their first game in the East this season, the two-time Stanley Cup champions were given a dose of their own medicine.

Dave Christian scored two goals when a teammate was in the penalty box Tuesday night at Landover, Md., and Mike Gartner added another to lead the Washington Capitals to a 5-2 victory over the Oilers.

Alan Haworth scored two minutes into the game to give the Capitals a lead they never relinquished, but the Oilers trailed only 2-1 in the third period and were working on a power play when Christian thwarted their hopes with his seventh goal of the season.

Haworth’s goal gave him 11 for the season and was the ninth consecutive game in which he has scored a goal. Although he set a club record, Haworth has a long way to go for a league mark. Harry Broadbent scored goals in 16 games in a row for Ottawa during the 1921-22 season.

After Christian’s first short-handed goal, Wayne Gretzky scored his 12th goal of the season before the penalty expired. But that was the end of the scoring for the Oilers, who failed to score on five other power-play opportunities. Christian completed the scoring when he scored a short-handed goal into an empty net in the last minute.

The Capitals welcomed back their captain and star defenseman, Rod Langway, who missed eight games.

Montreal 3, New York Islanders 2--The Canadiens, trying to rebuild into a contender, have eight rookies. Three of them were prominent in this game at Uniondale, N.Y.

Stephane Richer and Kjeil Dahlin scored goals to give the Canadiens a lead they never relinquished, and newcomer Patrick Roy stopped 26 shots to help the Canadiens extend their unbeaten streak to five games (3-0-2).

The Islanders’ four-game winning streak ended. They got goals from Pat Flatley and John Tonelli, but Tonelli’s came with only 37 seconds left in the game.

St. Louis 4, Toronto 3--Joe Mullen scored with 2:03 left in overtime at St. Louis to give the Blues the victory.

Ron Flockhart scored twice for the Blues to help build a 3-2 lead. But, with 8:36 left in regulation, Rick Vaive scored his eighth goal of the season to get Toronto even.