NHL Roundup : Flyers Win to Move Into First-Place Tie

Tim Kerr scored twice in a four-goal second period as the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New York Rangers, 8-2, Saturday night at Philadelphia and moved into a first-place tie with the Washington Capitals in the Patrick Division.

The Capitals and Flyers each have four regular-season games left.

Kerr’s goals gave him 54 for the third straight season and pushed Philadelphia into a 5-2 lead after two periods.

Washington 6, Hartford 6--Larry Murphy’s 40-foot slapshot with 2:05 remaining in regulation pulled the Capitals into a tie with the Whalers at Hartford, Conn., and kept them from falling out of first place.

The Whalers extended their unbeaten streak to seven games and moved into a tie with the Buffalo Sabres for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Adams Division.

New England scored three goals, two by Kevin Dineen, to take the lead in the third period before Murphy got his 19th goal of the season.

Minnesota 5, Detroit 4--Dino Ciccarelli scored three power-play goals to lead the North Stars past the Red Wings at Detroit.

The North Stars moved past St. Louis into second place in the Norris Division, one point behind first-place Chicago.

Ciccarelli, scoreless in his first 18 games this season, has 20 goals in his last 18 games and 44 overall.

Toronto 4, St. Louis 1--Defenseman Al Iafrate scored two goals, and the Maple Leafs ended a four-game losing streak by turning back the Blues at Toronto.

The Blues missed a chance to move into a tie with Chicago.

Iafrate gave Toronto a 2-1 lead after two periods. Rookies Wendel Clark and Steve Thomas scored for the Maple Leafs in the final period.

Montreal 4, Pittsburgh 3--Rookie Stephane Richer scored what turned out to be the winning goal at 14:55 of the second period at Montreal as the Canadiens held on to beat the Penguins and end a seven-game winless streak.

Norm Schmidt scored for Pittsburgh on a 40-foot drive at 8:03 of the final period, but the Penguins couldn’t get the equalizer.

The Canadiens, 0-6-1 in their skid, kept sole possession of second place in the Adams Division, two points ahead of Boston.

Edmonton 4, N.Y. Islanders 4--Jari Kurri’s second goal of the game and 64th of the season with 7:08 remaining in regulation at Uniondale, N.Y., brought the Oilers even with the Islanders.

The Islanders clinched third place in the Patrick Division.

Paul Coffey scored his 45th goal for Edmonton, and Wayne Gretzky had three assists.

Boston 2, Buffalo 1--Goals by Gord Kluzak and Geoff Courtnall backed the goaltending of Bill Ranford, playing in his first NHL game, as the Bruins beat the Sabres at Boston.

Ranford stopped 25 shots.

Boston has a 4-1-4 record in its last nine games.

New Jersey 3, Chicago 2--Aaron Broten and John MacLean combined on two goals, and goaltender Sam St. Laurent earned his second straight victory since coming up from the minor leagues as the Devils knocked off the Blackhawks at East Rutherford, N.J.

Greg Adams added two assists for the Devils.