NHL Roundup : Red Wings’ New Goalie Stops Flyers

Detroit Red Wings rookie goaltender Mark Laforest took a brief snooze before Tuesday night’s game with Philadelphia but woke up in time to put the Flyers to sleep.

Laforest, making his first National Hockey League start after joining the Red Wings on Tuesday, turned aside 35 shots and blanked the league’s second-highest scoring team over the final two periods to pace the Red Wings to a 4-1 victory at Detroit.

“I took a nap before the game and I know it sounds crazy, but I dreamed I was going to play well,” said Laforest, a Welland, Ontario, native. “I played well at Adirondack (in the American Hockey League) and I just tried to play well here.”

Laforest opened the season with Detroit’s top farm club and was summoned to relieve Greg Stefan, who had started the team’s previous 15 games.

The Flyers, who entered the game with the NHL’s best record at 19-6, lost for the second straight game.

Laforest, 23, joined the Red Wings after posting a 9-0 record at Adirondack.

Minnesota 9, Chicago 2--Tony McKegney scored three goals and Scott Bjugstad added two more as the North Stars poured in seven straight goals in the second half for a victory over the Black Hawks at Minneapolis.

McKegney registered his fourth career hat trick and first since he was acquired in the middle of last season by the North Stars, who snapped Chicago’s six-game unbeaten string.

Winnipeg 4, N.Y. Islanders 4--Randy Carlyle scored a power-play goal with 69 seconds left in regulation to rally the slumping Jets to a 4-4 tie with the Islanders at Uniondale, N.Y.

With eight seconds remaining on Paul Boutilier’s interference penalty, Ray Neufeld wrestled the puck from Gord Dineen and passed to Brian Mullen behind the goal line. Mullen then fed Carlyle at the top of the left circle, and the Jet defenseman fired a rising shot that beat Bill Smith to tie the game a fourth time.

Pat LaFontaine’s second goal at 13:45 of the second period had given the Islanders a 4-3 lead. LaFontaine’s 14th goal of the season came after he picked up a loose puck in the slot and fired it past Jet goaltender Dan Bouchard.