NHL Roundup : Calgary Tops Edmonton Again, 6-3

Calgary got two short-handed goals in the first period, and Mike Bullard scored twice in the second period as the Flames beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-3, Friday night at Edmonton. It was the Flames’ second win over the Oilers in two nights and sixth in seven meetings this season.

The victory enabled Calgary to climb to within five points of the first-place Edmonton in the Smythe Division.

Steve Bozek and Jim Peplinski scored the short-handed goals in the first period, Peplinski’s coming with the Flames two men short. Gary Sutter and Carey Wilson also scored for Calgary, and Kevin McClelland, Jari Kurri and Mike Krushelnyski got the Edmonton goals.

It took just 28 seconds for the bitterness the teams feel for each other to explode. Edmonton’s Kevin Lowe went after Calgary’s Al MacInnis, precipitating a brawl resulted in 108 minutes in penalties. Referee Terry Gregson gave each team two game misconducts, four fighting majors and two minors.

Before the first period ended, 56 minutes after it started, Gregson had issued 144 penalty minutes. The final game total was 250 minutes.

Washington 4, Pittsburgh 3--Bob Gould scored two goals and sent Pittsburgh star Mario Lemieux to the hospital after a second-period fight as the Capitals beat the Penguins in Landover, Md., to move into third place in the NHL’s Patrick Division.

The victory moved the Capitals one point ahead of the idle New York Rangers, who lead Pittsburgh by three. The Rangers and Capitals each have eight games remaining, Pittsburgh has seven.

The Penguins played nearly all of the final two periods without two of their top three scorers. Craig Simpson was ejected at 1:17 of the second period as the third man in a fight between Gould and Lemieux, the league’s third-leading scorer.

Lemieux, after taking several right hands from Gould, was helped from the ice and taken to George Washington University Hospital for examination of what was diagnosed as an injury to his left eye.

Montreal 3, Buffalo 2--Ryan Walter scored two goals, including the game-winner in the third period, as the defending Stanley Cup champions clinched a playoff spot by beating the Sabres at Buffalo.

Montreal, which became the sixth NHL team to clinch a postseason berth, moved to within five points of Hartford in the Adams Division.

With Buffalo’s Doug Smith in the penalty box from an altercation that occurred at the end of the second period, Walter tipped Mats Naslund’s shot from the point past goalie Tom Barrasso at 1:37 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie.

Christian Ruuttu scored two goals for Buffalo.

Quebec 5, Toronto 4--Anton Stastny had a goal and an assist to lead the Nordiques past the Maple Leafs at Quebec.

The triumph, coupled with Buffalo’s loss to Montreal, enabled the Nordiques to take a four-point lead over the Sabres in the race for the final Adams Division playoff berth.

Vancouver 6, Winnipeg 5--Tony Tanti scored his third goal of the game at 1:03 overtime to give the Canucks a victory over the Jets at Vancouver. It was Vancouver’s fourth consecutive victory.