NHL Roundup : Coffey Is Hot, Gets 4 Assists as Penguins Win

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Paul Coffey early last season in the hopes of giving Mario Lemieux some offensive help.

Injuries hampered the high-scoring defenseman most of the season, Lemieux had to go it alone and the Penguins missed the playoffs again.

Coffey is again in good health, and so is the Penguin offense.

Coffey had 4 assists, and Lemieux scored twice Saturday night at Pittsburgh to lead the Penguins to a 7-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Penguins (5-2) moved into a tie for first place in the Patrick Division and also took over the scoring lead with 43 goals, an average of better than 6 a game. The Blackhawks (1-7-1) have lost 5 in a row and have the worst record in the National Hockey League.

Throughout his career, Coffey has played with the scoring champion. He began his career with Wayne Gretzky in 1980, who won every scoring title until, coincidentally or not, Coffey was traded to the Penguins after holding out.

Lemieux, with 168 points, won the scoring title last season. He is off to a big start in his bid to repeat.

The big sharpshooting center had 2 goals and 2 assists. In just 7 games, Lemieux has 13 goals and 26 points. Coffey had a slower start, but in the last 2 games the all-time point leader among backliners has 7 assists.

“My knee is fine and I’m back skating the way I did a few years ago,” Coffey said. “I’m really enjoying playing with Lemieux.”

Coffey didn’t want to compare Gretzky and Lemieux.

“They are different types,” he said. “They are both great players. I will get more chances to set up goals with Lemieux. Wayne was the playmaker at Edmonton.”

Randy Cunneyworth and Phil Bourque each scored twice for the Penguins.

Hartford 8, Philadelphia 6--Carey Wilson and his Whaler teammates made Flyer goaltender Mark LaForest’s first game of the season a nightmare at Hartford.

After Ron Hextall performed brilliantly in the first 6 games, the Flyers gave their backup goalie his first shot.

Wilson scored the tiebreaking goal in the last minute of the second period, then added a goal and an assist in the final period to clinch the victory.

Although Mike Liut yielded 6 goals in 36 shots, the Whalers scored often enough to give him his 3rd victory in 17 games against the Flyers during his career.

Boston 5, St. Louis 2--The Penguins and the Kings are winning with impressive offenses, but the Bruins are doing it with defense.

The leaders of the Adams Division improved their record to 6-2 in this game at St. Louis. In 8 games, the Bruins have given up only 22 goals.

Randy Burridge and Andy Brickley each had a goal and an assist for the Bruins, who increased their lead to 4 points.

New York Islanders 7, Quebec 3--Alan Kerr and Pat LaFontaine scored 25 seconds apart in the second period to break open a tight game at Uniondale, N.Y.

The Islanders were clinging to a 2-1 lead when Kerr pushed a loose puck into the net through a maze of players at 15:15 of the second period. LaFontaine quickly made it 4-1, and the Nordiques were beaten.

The bright spot for the Nordiques was the continued outstanding play of rookie Joe Sakic, who had all 3 Quebec goals. He has 7 goals and 13 points in 8 games.

Montreal 4, Buffalo 3--Stephane Richer scored 2 goals and set up another at Montreal to lead the Canadiens to their 4th win in 9 games.

A tough defense held the Sabres, who beat the Canadiens, 5-3, Friday night, to 18 shots on goal.

Calgary 3, Toronto 3--The Flames outplayed the Maple Leafs throughout the game at Toronto, but they needed Mark Hunter’s second goal of the game at 6:42 of the last period just to get a tie.

The Flames outshot the Maple Leafs, 33-15. Both teams had 2 shots in the 5-minute overtime. The tie increased the Leafs’ lead in the Norris Division to 6 points.