NHL Roundup : Gallant Scores 3 Goals; Red Wings Beat Blues, 4-2, to End Home Slump

Gerard Gallant scored 3 goals, and goaltender Greg Stefan stopped 33 shots as the Detroit Red Wings snapped a 4-game losing streak by beating the St. Louis Blues, 4-2, Wednesday night at Detroit.

With rumors of more personnel shake-ups in the air, Gallant scored once in the first period and twice in the second as the Red Wings stretched their Norris Division lead over the Blues (14-19-7) to 8 points.

After Cliff Ronning’s goal gave the Blues a 2-1 advantage in the second period, Gallant tied it with his second goal of the game.

Detroit (19-15-5) took the lead for good later in the second period when Gallant scored to complete his fifth career hat trick.

The Red Wings, mired in their worst slump of the season, on Tuesday traded Miroslav Frycer, demoted Joe Murphy to the minor leagues and told Doug Halward and Tim Higgins not to report to practice or games. Rumors of a trade, possibly involving Bob Probert or Petr Klima, also were reported.

Winnipeg 4, Vancouver 2--Dale Hawerchuk scored twice as the Jets picked up a win at home.

The victory gave the Jets 37 points, 2 more than the Canucks.

Winnipeg opened the scoring when Gord Donnelly fired a shot past Vancouver goaltender Kirk McLean, and Hawerchuk put the Jets up, 2-0, on a power play.

Edmonton 4, Quebec 2--Jari Kurri snapped a 7-game scoring drought with 2 goals, including the go-ahead score late in the second period, as the Oilers downed the Nordiques at Edmonton, Canada.

Kurri broke a 1-1 tie with his 24th goal of the season with 50 seconds left in the period.

Kurri scored his second goal on a third-period power play. Miroslav Frycer, playing his first game as an Oiler after being acquired from Detroit Tuesday, scored in the first period, and Jimmy Carson got his team-leading 32nd goal in the third.

New York Rangers 3, Washington 3--Brian Mullen and Brian Leetch scored third-period goals as the Rangers overcame a 3-goal deficit to tie the Capitals in New York.

Washington led, 3-0, after one period, before the Rangers rallied with strong second and third periods, during which they outshot the Capitals, 39-18.

Hartford 5, Buffalo 4--Brian Lawton scored at 3:19 of overtime, giving the Whalers a victory over the Sabres at Buffalo, N.Y.

Lawton’s goal, his second of the game, came on a 2-on-1 with Kevin Dineen, who assisted on 4 Hartford goals.

Buffalo took a 4-3 lead with 6 minutes remaining in the third period when Uwe Krupp and Christian Ruuttu scored 40 seconds apart.