NHL Roundup : Detroit Snaps 0-for-29 Streak at Philadelphia

Certainly no one on the current Detroit roster would be able to recall much about the last time the Red Wings won at Philadelphia.

Detroit beat the Flyers, 5-1, Saturday for its first victory in the Spectrum since Nov. 13, 1971. Goalie Glen Hanlon made 30 saves to help the Red Wings break a 29-game winless streak on Philadelphia’s home ice.

“I told (the team) not to think about the 29 games . . . here since 1971,” Detroit Coach Jacques Demers said. “I told the players to forget about it, to not be defeat-minded. Everybody worked today for 60 minutes.”

Brent Ashton opened the scoring at 8:43 of the first period on a power-play goal and Mel Bridgman drilled a shot past Flyers goalie Ron Hextall at 12:30 from the top of the right faceoff circle to put the Red Wings ahead 2-0.

Bob Probert, Lee Norwood and Steve Yzerman also scored for Detroit. Mark Howe scored for the Flyers in the second period.

The Red Wings moved closer to clinching first place in the Norris Division with a seven-point lead over the St. Louis Blues. The Red Wings have four games remaining, and the Blues have five.

The Flyers, who have already clinched first place in the Patrick Division, are second behind the Edmonton Oilers in total points in the NHL with 98.

Boston 2, Vancouver 1--Tom McCarthy and Thomas Gradin scored second-period goals, and goalie Bill Ranford stopped 28 shots as the Bruins beat the Canucks at Boston.

Boston’s fourth victory in five games improved its chances for the top pick in this year’s NHL draft. Vancouver’s 60 points are the fewest in the league, but the Bruins obtained the Canucks’ first choice in an off-season trade that sent Barry Pederson to Vancouver for Cam Neely.

Hartford 5, Pittsburgh 4--Sylvain Turgeon scored three goals, including two in a team-record span of six seconds in the second period, as the Whalers edged the Penguins at Hartford.

The victory, Hartford’s fourth in its last five games, was the Whalers’ team-record 41st of the season and leaves them atop the Adams Division with 89 points.

Pittsburgh saw its playoff hopes dwindle. The Penguins remained six points behind the New York Rangers for the final Patrick Division playoff spot, and have only four games left.

Montreal 6, Buffalo 3--Stephane Richer and Claude Lemieux scored two goals apiece as the Canadiens won their fifth straight game by defeating Buffalo at Montreal.

Mats Naslund and Ryan Walter also scored for the Canadiens, who remained three points ahead of Boston in the race for second place in the Adams Divison. Buffalo dropped five points behind fourth-place Quebec.

Toronto 4, Edmonton 2--Tom Fergus recorded a goal and an assist and Ken Wregget stopped 11 third-period shots as the Maple Leafs surprised the Oilers in Toronto.

Rookie Vincent Damphousse scored an insurance goal at 13:33 of the final period and Wregget shut out the Oilers thereafter to preserve the win. Wregget finished with 27 saves.

Quebec 5, Chicago 4--Robert Picard and Peter Stastny each scored two goals as the Nordiques broke a three-game winless streak by beating the Blackhawks at Quebec.