NHL Roundup : Capitals Beat the Islanders Again

For three years in a row, the New York Islanders have knocked the Washington Capitals out of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It has been a frustrating experience for the young Capitals.

Now, it is the Islanders’ turn to be frustrated. The Capitals are hoping it will carry right through the playoffs.

The Capitals completed a two-game sweep of the hated Islanders Sunday when Craig Laughlin and Bob Gould scored second-period goals to lead the Capitals to a 3-1 victory at Landover, Md. Saturday night at Uniondale, N.Y., the Capitals skated to a 6-2 victory over the stumbling Islanders.

Scott Stevens, more noted for his toughness on defense than for his work on offense, was a key figure in both victories. In the first, he had a goal and assisted on another. In the second, he had two assists, setting up Laughlin for the goal that gave Washington the lead for good.

The 6-2 defenseman, considered by many coaches and players the toughest player in the league, believes the Capitals still have some paying back to do.

“We were frustrated the last three years,” Stevens said. “Now it’s their turn to be frustrated. We still have a long way to go to get even, though.

“I think maybe when they were winning all those Stanley Cups, we had too much respect for the Islanders. They can’t psyche us out any more. We don’t respect them.

“We have a good team and we can’t respect any team in the league. Any team that respects another is going to get beat by them.”

It was the seventh win in a row for the Capitals, who are only one point behind Philadelphia in the battle for first place in the Patrick Division. Pete Peeters, who has been in the nets for five of the seven, stopped 24 shots. He lost his shutout when Duane Sutter caught him off-balance and beat him with a quick shot from close range.

Coach Al Arbour, whose team is third, 17 points behind the Capitals, is disappointed, mainly beCause the Islanders are having trouble nailing down a playoff spot.

“Washington is on a roll,” he said, “and we’re rolling the other way.”

Buffalo 4, New Jersey 3--Gil Perreault became the 12th player in the NHL to score 500 goals and Doug Smith scored the game-winner with less than five minutes remaining at Buffalo.

Perreault, in his 16th season, has played 1,159 games and has 1,295 points.

Philadelphia 4, New York Rangers 1--With a chance to move within one point of the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division, the Rangers found goalie Bob Froese just too much to beat.

The league’s leader in percentage of saves and goals-against leader stopped 30 shots.

Winnipeg 5, Pittsburgh 3--Maybe the Jets should have made the coaching switch sooner. In their third game with General Manager John Ferguson as coach, the Jets won their third in a row at Winnipeg.

Doug Smail and Bengt Lundholm scored short-handed goals a little more than two minutes apart in the second period. Smail scored again late in the period to climax a four-goal uprising.

The Penguins’ brilliant Mario Lemieux, opened the scoring in the first period with his 42nd goal to extend his scoring streak to 25 games. He scored the Penguins’ second goal and assisted on the other.

It was the third win in a row for goalie Dan Bouchard, who sat on the bench for six weeks before Barry Long was replaced by Ferguson. Bouchard stopped 21 shots.

Chicago 4, St. Louis 2--Steve Larmer scored two goals and goaltender Murray Bannerman stopped 40 shots at Chicago to enable the Blackhawks to increase their lead in the Norris Division to four points.

The Blues, who would have tied for first with a victory, dominated much of the time, but Bannerman kept making brilliant saves to stop them

Detroit 3, Calgary 3--Kelly Kisio scored a short-handed goal early in the third period at Detroit to give the Red Wings the tie.

In the five-minute overtime, the Wings had the best chance to win it. John Ogrodnick fired a 25-footer that eluded goalie Marc D’Amour, but the puck hit the goalpost and bounced away.