NHL Roundup : Former Canadien Coach Still Having Bad Luck in Montreal

Only one team, hated provincial rival Quebec, has caused the Montreal Canadiens problems this season. The Nordiques beat them 3 times in a row.

That, of course, was before last week, when the Nordiques hired Jean Perron, who was fired as Montreal coach at the conclusion of last season.

The Canadiens, apparently inspired, scored 3 goals in a 46-second span in the second period Wednesday night at Montreal and breezed to a 6-4 victory.

The Canadiens (22-10-6), runaway leaders in the Adams Division, are unbeaten in their last 14 games at the Forum. They are 13-2-3 in their last 18 games, and Quebec accounted for both losses.

The Canadiens were led by Brian Skrudland. Skrudland, who scored only 3 goals in the first 34 games, came close to doubling his total in one shift on the ice.

After the teams fought to a 2-2 first-period tie, Matt Naslund scored his 15th goal for the Canadiens at 1:47 of the second. Skrudland had the next 2 shots on goal, and both of them went into the net. He scored his first at 1:56, just 9 seconds after Naslund’s, and the second at 2:33 to make it 5-2.

The crowd of 17,305 gave Perron a warm welcome, but his former players, many of whom voiced displeasure with Perron last season, gave him a hot reception.

Buffalo 5, New York Rangers 2--Even without their ailing coach, Ted Sator, the Sabres were too much for the Rangers at New York. Defenseman Doug Bodger scored twice on power plays as Buffalo beat the Rangers for the fifth time in a row.

Assistant coach Don Lever said that Sator and his entire family had the flu.

The Sabres ended a 4-game winless streak with their second victory in 9 games.

Pittsburgh 6, Toronto 1--Mario Lemieux continued his mission to get the Penguins into the playoffs with a victory at Toronto.

The big center had a hat trick and 2 assists to lead the Penguins to another romp and increase their lead in the Patrick Division to 6 points.

In just 32 games, Lemieux has 36 goals and 55 assists for 91 points and a 10-point lead over Bernie Nicholls of the Kings in the scoring race. In the last 2 games, Lemieux has 9 points, and the Penguins have 11 goals.

With his size (6 feet 4 inches, 200 pounds), Lemieux bowls over opposing defensemen and makes it look easy.

But he said: “It’s not easy. It gets tougher and tougher. But the team is playing well, and that’s why we’ve lost only once in 14 games (11-1-2).”

Vancouver 2, Edmonton 1--Jim Sandlak scored the winning goal with just 21 seconds left at Edmonton, and rookie Troy Gamble sparkled in the net for the Canucks.

Gamble is 2-0 since being called up from the International Hockey League 3 days ago. He stopped 27 shots and gave up just 1 goal. Monday night, in a 5-1 win over Minnesota, he stopped 30 shots.

Boston 4, Hartford 3--The struggling Bruins made mistakes at Hartford, but rookie John Carter scored twice and they hung on for the victory.

“We worked very hard,” Coach Terry O’Reilly said, “but we kept battling. In the end, it paid off for a much-needed victory.”

The Bruins are 4-10-6 since Nov. 6.

Washington 4, Chicago 3--The Bruins are doing better than the Blackhawks, though.

Kelly Miller knocked the puck into the net in a scramble 51 seconds into the final period at Chicago, and the Capitals handed the Blackhawks their 12th loss in the last 14 games.

The Capitals built a 3-1 lead, but Chicago caught up in the second period on power plays.

Winnipeg 5, New Jersey 5--In a wild third period at Winnipeg, the Devils’ Jim Korn scored with 13 seconds left in regulation that capped a 2-goal rally in the last 6 1/2 minutes.

Short-handed goals by Thomas Steen and Randy Gilhen 52 seconds apart had given the Jets a 5-3 lead. But Patrik Sundstrom scored at 13:26 before Korn tied it.

New Jersey’s John MacLean, who scored 2 goals, has 14 in his last 8 games.