NHL Roundup : Whalers, Best of Least, Rally to Douse Flames

Sylvain Turgeon and Bob Crawford scored 17 seconds apart in the third period Wednesday night at Hartford, Conn., to climax a three-goal rally that carried the Whalers to a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames.

The Flames took a 3-1 lead when Steve Bozek scored a short-handed goal in the first minute of the final period. Turgeon’s second goal of the game three minutes later cut the lead in half. Turgeon completed a hat trick at 7:22 to tie the game. Shortly after the next faceoff, Crawford took a centering pass from Torrie Robertson to put Hartford ahead for the first time since the second minute of the game.

The victory gave the Whalers a 15-13-1 record and 31 points. It is a better record than 11 other NHL teams. All it really does, though, is make the Whalers the best last-place team in the league. Four of the teams with better records are in the tough Adams Division. The fifth-place Whalers are only five points out of first place.

It was the second game in a row in which the Whalers had to battle from behind. Monday night at Montreal, they trailed, 4-1, in the final period and earned a 4-4 tie.

“In years past, if we got down by two or three goals, you’d see the whole bench sag,” said center Ron Francis, who assisted on Turgeon’s last two goals. “This year, we don’t stop; we play the whole 60 minutes. We also think we can beat any team.”

In his third NHL season, Turgeon, only 20, is developing into one of the stars. He has 20 goals in just 29 games. He teams with Francis and Kevin Dineen to form a formidable line. They have sparked the Whalers to a 7-3-1 record in the last 11 games.

Washington 5, Edmonton 2--Kevin Hatcher’s goal ignited a four-goal third-period outburst at Edmonton, and the Capitals capitalized on the fine goaltending of Al Jensen.

Jensen made 38 saves as the Capitals handed the Oilers their second loss at home in 18 games.

The Capitals have lost only one of their last 15 games.

Buffalo 5, New York 4--Don Lever, playing in just his seventh game for the Sabres since being recalled from the minors, scored the winning goal with 2:55 remaining at New York.

Lever’s third goal of the season climaxed a spirited third-period rally in which the Sabres, who had won only 2 of their previous 11 games, scored three times.

Sabre veteran Gil Perreault scored in the second period. It was his 13th of the season and the 495th of his career. Only 10 NHL players have scored 500 goals in a career.

Montreal 3, Quebec 2--Mats Naslund scored the decisive goal midway through the third period at Montreal, and rookie goaltender Patrick Roy stopped 23 shots.

The victory, the Canadiens’ first win over the Nordiques in three tries this season, put them in a tie with the Nordiques for first place in the Adams Division. The teams play again tonight at Quebec.

Chicago 5, Winnipeg 4--Defenseman Behn Wilson scored on a power play early in the third period at Chicago to give the Black Hawks the victory.

The Jets jumped off to a 2-0 lead when Dale Hawerchuk scored twice on power plays. Hawerchuk assisted on another goal. In the last two games, both of which the Jets lost, the center has three goals and five assists.