NHL Roundup : Hawerchuk’s 2 Goals Off Malarchuk Enable Jets to Jolt Nordiques, 5-4

Dale Hawerchuk scored twice early in the third period against the hottest goalie in the NHL and led the lowly Winnipeg Jets to a 5-4 victory over the Nordiques Tuesday night at Quebec.

Goaltender Clint Malarchuk and the Nordiques had won seven games in a row and had given up only 17 goals in the seven games while stopping 91% of the shots fired at him.

Going into the third period against Winnipeg, Malarchuk had stopped 15 of the 17 Jet shots and it was a 2-2 game.

On a power play just 73 seconds after the faceoff opening the period, Hawerchuk fired a shot over Malarchuk’s shoulder into the upper left corner of the net. On his next shift, Hawerchuk scored his 31st goal of the season, this one on a breakaway at 4:36. The 4-2 lead was more than the Nordiques could overcome. In the second period, Hawerchuk assisted on a goal.

In a season that has been mostly a disappointment for the Jets, Hawerchuk, a five-year veteran at 22, has been the bright spot.

Hawerchuk scored 53 goals last season when the Jets had their best record (43-27-10 in the regular season) and reached the division final before losing to Stanley Cup champion Edmonton.

Going into this game, the Jets had only a 13-26-5 record and were in last place in the Smythe Division.

“We seem to play better against the good teams,” Hawerchuk, the Jet captain said. “Sometimes, though, we play well against them and lose. This time everything broke right.”

Peter Stastny scored twice for the Adams Division leaders, who failed for the third time this season to set a club record of eight wins in a row.

The Nordiques lost a chance to pull four points ahead of the second-place Montreal Canadiens.

“Those points are more important than any record,” Quebec’s Alain Cote said. “We can’t afford to lose games like this in our division. There are just too many tough teams in it. When we catch a team with a weak record, we have to beat them.”

Philadelphia 3, New Jersey 2--The Devils had the satisfaction of scoring the first goal this season by a visiting team in Philadelphia and outplayed the powerful Flyers for two periods.

But Tim Kerr scored on a power play 75 seconds after the start of the last period to tie the game, and, on another power play, the Flyers won it on a goal by Pelle Eklund with 4:48 remaining.

Kerr’s tying goal was the 200th of his career, and it was his 24th power-play goal and 38th overall in 44 games.

This was only the third home game for the Flyers since the new year began. In the previous two, Washington and Calgary were shut out. Defenseman Randy Velischek ended the scoreless string for visitors when he beat Bob Froese at 14:06 of the second period. Less than two minutes later, Paul Gagne gave New Jersey a 2-1 lead.

Calgary 4, Washington 3--Steve Konroyd and Dan Quinn scored power-play goals in the third period at Landover, Md., to give the Flames a sweep of the three-game season series with the Capitals, one of the top teams in the NHL.

Konroyd’s 50-footer, halfway through a five-minute major called on Washington defenseman Scott Stevens, gave the Flames a 3-2 lead. Quinn’s goal midway through the period clinched the victory.

Chicago 3, Minnesota 3--Brian Bellows scored a fluke goal with 3:54 left at Bloomington, Minn., to give the North Stars the tie. Goalie Murray Bannerman gloved a shot by Bellows, but when he dropped the puck, it hopped over his stick and Bellows knocked it into the net.

Bannerman had 38 saves.

New York Rangers 2, Vancouver 1--Defenseman Mike McEwen scored both Ranger goals at Vancouver. His second came with 5:39 remaining.