NHL Roundup : For the Red Wings, .500 Is a Big Deal

For some teams, a .500 record isn’t much, but for the Detroit Red Wings, it is something special.

With Steve Yzerman scoring both goals and goaltender Greg Stefan stopping 28 shots Friday night at Detroit, the Red Wings beat the Minnesota North Stars, 2-1, to reach .500 (15-15-7).

The reason for the joy, is that it has been a long time since the Red Wings were even close to .500 this late into the season. Also, it gives them the best record in the Norris Division. It also is a marked improvement over last season.

The Red Wings won only 17 of 80 games a year ago and after 37 games were 8-24-5 and already eliminated from playoff consideration.

The Red Wings are unbeaten in their last five games (4-0-1) and Stefan is doing even better. He hasn’t lost in his last six appearances.

Yzerman, who scored only 14 goals when injuries plagued him most of last season, made it 2-0 halfway through the second period with his 14th this season.

After that it was up to Stefan. He was equal to the task. He missed his shutout when Keith Acton knocked in a rebound at 12:43 of the second period on a power play. After that Stefan was unbeatable. He stopped 12 shots in the third period, including several blasts from close range.

Boston 7, New Jersey 2--It was a battle between two teams deep into slumps at East Rutherford, N.J. and it was the Bruins who exploded.

Rick Middleton scored twice in a four-goal first period assault that enabled the Bruins to end a five-game losing streak.

The loss extended the Devils’ winless string to six games.

The Bruins dominated throughout. They outshot the Devils, 42-23. They built a 5-0 lead before Andy Brickley put the Devils on the board at 11:43 of the second period.

Winnipeg 6, Buffalo 3--The Jets dominated almost the entire game at Buffalo, but it wasn’t until Paul MacLean scored two quick goals in the middle of the third period that they clinched the victory.

The Sabres scored twice early in the third period to tie the game, but MacLean scored his 16th goal at 9:02 and his 17th at 12:19 to put the Jets in command.

The Jets, who outshot the Sabres, 35-13, in the first two periods, took a 3-1 lead into the final period. The Jets wound up outshooting the Sabres, 44-25, for the game.