NHL Roundup : Jets Win Third in Row on Road

Defenseman Dave Ellett scored a goal and assisted on two others Wednesday night at Pittsburgh to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-3 victory, their third in a row on the road.

The Jets, who beat the Capitals Tuesday night at Landover, Md., have an 11-9-2 record away from Winnipeg. Only Edmonton (12-9-0) has a better road record.

Most NHL teams dislike the road and most of them have losing records. The Jets thrive on enemy ice.

Steve Rooney, recently obtained from Montreal, scored his first goal of the season on a pass from Ellett at 13:20 of the third period. It proved to be the winning score.

“It’s a hard thing to put your finger on when it’s going good on the road,” Jet Coach Dan Maloney said. “We’re grateful for it, because we know we’ll win our share on the road.

“We got a little loose in the third period and Pittsburgh kept working hard and got some bounces to make it close.

“Maybe part of the reason for our success on the road is that we’re used to the traveling. In this (Pittsburgh’s) division, the traveling is much different. They don’t have far to go to any city. The last game we played in Detroit (Sunday), we arrived at 5 in the morning, played that night and won.”

With the victory the Jets became the fifth team in the NHL to reach 50 points. Two of the other four are ahead of the Jets in the suddenly competitive Smythe Division--Edmonton and Calgary.

Minnesota 3, Toronto 2--Don Beaupre shut out the Maple Leafs for the last 46 minutes at Toronto and became a winner when Brian MacLellan broke a 2-2 tie in the second period.

The North Stars, who won only five of their first 18 games, moved to within a victory of .500 and increased their lead in the tight Norris Division race to three points.

The Maple Leafs outshot Minnesota, 40-28, but Beaupre stopped the last 28 Toronto shots.

“We weren’t too sharp in the first period,” Minnesota Coach Lorne Henning said. “But Donny kept us in the game. When we needed a lift, he was exceptional.”

Hartford 3, Boston 1--Linemates Ron Francis, John Anderson and Kevin Dineen each scored at Hartford to enable the Whalers to end a four-game losing streak.

Hartford goalie Mike Liut stopped 25 shots, but lost his shutout when defenseman Mike Milbury scored with 4:39 remaining.

The Whalers’ four losses were all on the road. Tonight the teams play again at Boston.

New Jersey 3, Chicago 1--A fabulous performance by goaltender Alain Chevrier at Chicago enabled the Devils to win their first road game in seven weeks.

Chevrier stopped 46 shots, 22 of them in the final period when almost the entire 20 minutes were spent in the Devils’ end of the ice.

John MacLean scored what proved to be the winning goal in the second period and assisted on the final Devil score.

The Devils are 5-14-2 on the road.

Buffalo 3, Montreal 3--The Sabres jumped in front, 2-0, in the first eight minutes at Buffalo, but couldn’t hold the lead and settled for a tie.

Mike McPhee scored four minutes into the third period to get the Canadiens even and the goaltenders prevailed the rest of the way.

New York Rangers 8, Calgary 5--Don Maloney scored two short-handed goals in a wild first period at Calgary and the Rangers’ Tomas Sandstrom had his second hat trick in the last three games. Sandstrom has seven goals in the last three games.

The defeat cut the Flames lead over Winnipeg in the battle for second place in the Smythe Division to one point.

The Rangers moved into third place in the Patrick Division.