Stanley Cup Playoffs : The Puck Stops Here: Hextall Blanks Rangers

Rookie goaltender Ron Hextall was the first player on the Madison Square Garden ice Saturday night for the Philadelphia Flyers.

And for most of the first period against the New York Rangers, Hextall had a feeling he was the only Flyer on the ice.

The first eight shots of the game resulted in stops by Hextall, and the goalie went on to stop 34 shots in all and lead the Flyers to a 3-0 victory and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series.

Peter Zezel, who missed nine games with a knee injury before coming back in the second playoff game to spark the Flyers to a one-sided victory, gave Hextall the goal he needed in the second period.

While helping to kill a penalty, Zezel broke into the clear, dragged Tony McKegney with him and back-handed a shot into an open net 5:28 into the second period. Just 13 seconds later, defenseman Mark Howe scored off a faceoff to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead.

Hextall, who led all goalies during the regular season with 37 victories, played the way he did early in the season when he was practically unbeatable. He was particularly brilliant during the Rangers’ seven power-play chances.

Although the Flyers have outscored the Rangers, 8-1, since early in the second period of Game 2, they haven’t been doing it with a man advantage. They have failed on 20 straight power plays.

Detroit 4, Chicago 3--The Red Wings were a tough defensive team all season. Now that they have developed an offense, they are a dominant team.

Rookie Shawn Burr scored on a deflection nearly five minutes into overtime at Chicago to give the Red Wings a 3-0 lead in the series.

It was a lucky goal. Dave Lewis fired from the middle of the right faceoff circle, his shot struck his winger, Burr, on the left glove and flew past Blackhawk goalie Bob Sauve for the winning score.

The Red Wings scored three times in the first period, but the Blackhawks battled back. They tied it on Ed Olczyk’s goal with 6:37 left in regulation.

Montreal 5, Boston 4--The Canadiens have a way of peaking at playoff time. With Mike McPhee scoring three goals at Boston, the Canadiens built a big lead and held on to take a 3-0 lead in the series.

The Canadiens, who won their last nine games in the regular season, are on a 12-game winning streak. The defending Stanley Cup champions can close out the opening round with a victory tonight at Boston.

The Canadiens have beaten the Bruins in their last 17 playoff series in which they have met, going back to 1943.

Calgary 3, Winnipeg 2--There are a number of experts who think the Flames have a chance to win the Stanley Cup. But after losing two games at home and falling behind, 2-0, in the third game at Winnipeg, their chances of getting out of the first round were not very good.

But the Flames, who tied Edmonton for the best road record in the regular season, fought back to gain a tie, then won in overtime.

Shortly after Winnipeg goalie Daniel Berthiaume made two sensational saves on shots by Colin Patterson, Mike Bullard took a drop pass from Patterson and beat the rookie to give the Flames their first win. It came at 3:53 of overtime.

Washington 2, New York Islanders 0--It will be difficult for goaltender Bob Mason to improve on his first appearance in the nets in postseason play.

Mason stopped 26 shots, half of them in a hectic final-period, at Uniondale, N.Y., to enable the Capitals to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Mason’s task was made a little easier when Islander scoring star Mike Bossy was unable to play because of a back problem.

Kelly Hrudey was brilliant in goal for the Islanders, stopping 30 shots. Defenseman Larry Murphy beat him late in the first period, but the other score was by Gaetan Duchesne into an empty net in the last minute.

Quebec 5, Hartford 1--Returning home, the Nordiques prevented a sweep in the first round when Peter Stastny had a hat trick and Michel Goulet scored twice.

Stastny’s first goal was an unusual one, coming when the Nordiques were two players short. Quebec’s win cut Hartford’s lead in the best-of-seven series to 2-1.

St. Louis 4, Toronto 3--The Blues blamed the officiating for Thursday’s loss to the Maple Leafs at St. Louis that evened the series.

But following this game that gave them a 2-1 lead in the series, the Blues felt a lot luckier.

With the score tied, 3-3, and less than six minutes remaining in regulation at Toronto, a fluke goal gave the St. Louis new life.

Greg Cavallini’s shot on a 2 on 1 break was stopped by goaltender Ken Wregget. Toronto defenseman Al Iafrate swiped at the rebound, the puck bounced off teammate Steve Thomas’ skate and into the net for the winning goal.