NHL Roundup : He Gives His Mom Early Gift

Clint Malarchuk of the Quebec Nordiques had an early Christmas present for his mother Saturday night.

As she watched from the stands after flying in from her home in Calgary, Canada, Malarchuk shut out Boston for the second time in three nights, 2-0, at Quebec.

“It was an indescribable feeling,” said Malarchuk, who stopped 33 shots and--with the help of his defense--six power plays. “I skated out as the first star of the game, and I could see her sitting in the crowd, so I waved to her.

“It’s the first time she’s seen me get a shutout in the NHL. I haven’t had two shutouts in a row since I played pee-wee hockey.”

Peter Stastny scored his fourth goal in two games midway through the first period, and Randy Moller scored at 7:16 of the third period.

Edmonton 8, Hartford 5--Mark Messier scored twice, and Wayne Gretzky had a goal and three assists to pass Bobby Hull for 13th place on the all-time scoring list as the Oilers beat the Whalers at Edmonton.

Messier’s power-play goal at 17:04 of the second period moved Edmonton in front, 6-4. He made it 7-4 at 1:24 of the third period.

Gretzky assisted on the first Edmonton goal to give him 1,171 points, one more than Hull. His third assist gave him 727, just one back of Guy Lafleur, 11th on the all-time assist list.

Washington 6, New Jersey 2--Greg Adams scored two first-period goals at East Rutherford, N.J., and goalie Al Jensen continued his mastery over the Devils as the Capitals won for the seventh time in nine games.

Jensen improved his record against the New Jersey franchise to 11-0-1.

Adams put Washington ahead to stay 8:39 into the game on a breakaway. Less than four minutes later, Adams made it 2-0 with his seventh goal of the season.

John MacLean cut the margin to 2-1 with a power-play goal at 2:30 of the second period, but Dave Christian and Mike Gartner scored 38 seconds apart six minutes later to give the Capitals a commanding 4-1 edge.

Calgary 4, N.Y. Islanders 3--Jim Peplinksi and Doug Riseborough scored second-period goals, and the Flames held on to win at Calgary.

Brent Sutter scored on a power play for the Islanders at 7:04 of the third period to narrow the deficit to one goal, but Calgary goalie Rejean Lemelin stopped the Islanders the rest of the way to record his league-leading 12th win.

Dan Quinn and Lanny MacDonald scored first-period goals for New York, while Pat Flatley scored on a power play and John Tonelli connected for the Islanders as the first period ended in a 2-2 tie.

Pittsburgh 5, New York 4--Doug Shedden scored a third-period goal to halt a Ranger rally, and the Penguins held on to win at Pittsburgh.

New York goalie John Vanbiesbrouck misplayed the puck behind the net, leaving it open for Shedden, who banged in Bob Errey’s pass to give Pittsburgh a 5-3 lead.

The Penguins built a 4-0 lead after two periods, then saw the Rangers come back with goals by Mark Osborne, Ron Greschner and Reijo Ruotsalainen in less than six minutes of the third period.

Montreal 10, Detroit 1--Guy Carbonneau scored twice and set up two other goals as the Canadiens routed the Red Wings at Montreal.

Carbonneau fed Bob Gainey for a short-handed goal at 7:21 of the first period, breaking a 1-1 tie.

The Canadiens made it 3-1 at 12:53 on Larry Robinson’s goal, and Mats Naslund scored his 16th goal at 14:58 on a breakaway. Carbonneau scored at 17:09 to make it 5-1, and the rout was on.

Toronto 3, Buffalo 2--Steve Thomas scored his second goal of the game 26 seconds into overtime at Toronto, and the Maple Leafs handed the Sabres their fourth consecutive defeat.

Thomas was playing in his first game on recall from the St. Catharines Saints, for whom he’d scored 18 goals in 19 American Hockey League games.

Thomas put Toronto ahead, 2-1, at 2:57 of the third period, but Buffalo’s Gates Orlando made it 2-2 at 10:02.

St. Louis 4, Minnesota 3--Mark Reeds scored with 6:57 remaining, and the Blues rallied to beat the North Stars at St. Louis.

Reeds’ goal, only his second of the season, came after Minnesota’s Don Beaupre stopped Dave Barr’s backhander for St. Louis. Doug Gilmour earlier brought the Blues from behind a second time by scoring with 10:27 left.