NHL Roundup : Flames Rally for 5-4 Overtime Win

Dana Murzyn scored at 3:21 of overtime as the Calgary Flames stormed back for a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday night at Calgary, Canada.

The Blackhawks, who had won 2 in a row on their swing into Western Canada behind their hot goalie, Alain Chevrier, jumped all over the runaway leaders of the Smythe Division in the first period.

They scored 3 goals in less than 2 1/2 minutes, chased Calgary goalie Rick Wamsley and built a 4-1 lead behind Chevrier.

But the Flames demonstrated why they are among the leading contenders for the Stanley Cup. In the last 2 periods of regulation, they fired 31 shots at Chevrier, and 3 of them made it into the net. Doug Gilmour had 2 goals in the second period as the Flames closed the gap.

On a power play with just 7:15 left in regulation, the Flames caught up when Joe Nieuwendyk scored his 36th goal.

Meanwhile, Mike Vernon shut the Blackhawks out over the final 46 minutes, including overtime.

Hakan Loob, who started the play that tied the game, also set up the game-winner. He fed Gary Roberts, who charged the net, bringing Chevrier out of the net. Roberts then flipped the puck to Murzyn, and the defenseman’s quick shot caught the goalie out of position. It was only Murzyn’s second goal of the season.

The Flames are 33-11-7 for 73 points, second only to Montreal’s 74, although the Canadiens have played 3 more games than the Flames have.

Montreal 2, Buffalo 1--The Sabres reinforced what many teams have found out: It is almost impossible to sweep a home-and-home series against a good team.

After scoring an impressive win over the Canadiens at Buffalo Friday night, the Sabres had their 9-game unbeaten string halted at Montreal.

A power-play goal by Montreal defenseman Chris Chelios midway through the second period turned out to be decisive.

In Friday’s game, Buffalo Coach Ted Sator complained about the Canadiens’ use of their sticks and said they played dirty. But in this game, there were only 6 minor penalties.

“I’m probably prouder of my team tonight than I was during the winning streak, because they struggled through adversity and never gave up,” Sator said.

Pittsburgh 10, Detroit 5--In this high-scoring game at Pittsburgh, the Penguins were led by Rob Brown, Dan Quinn and defenseman Randy Hillier as well as Mario Lemieux.

Brown had 3 goals, Hillier 4 assists and Quinn 2 goals and 4 assists. Lemieux contributed his 54th goal and 3 assists to increase his point total to 137.

Winnipeg 4, Boston 3--The Jets went into the last period with a 2-goal lead but took only 1 shot on goal in the final 20 minutes and barely held on for their second victory in 16 games at Boston Garden.

Pat Elyniuk had 2 goals and an assist for the Jets, who have had a rough time in Boston since they joined the NHL in 1979.

The Bruins, seeking their third win in a row, welcomed back their best player, Ray Bourque, who missed 20 games with a knee injury.

Philadelphia 7, New York Islanders 4--The Islanders had trouble waking up for a day game at Philadelphia, and their 5-game unbeaten streak ended.

Bryan Propp led the Philadelphia offense, which built a 7-2 lead when he scored twice and assisted on 2 goals. In 4 games against the Islanders, Propp has 6 goals.

New York Rangers 1, Toronto 1--Ed Olczyk, the Maple Leafs’ one dependable offensive threat, scored his 26th goal at 5:29 of the last period at Toronto to end the team’s 4-game losing streak.

The Rangers not only failed to beat the lowly Maple Leafs, they lost rookie sensation Tony Granato. Granato suffered a concussion in the third period after getting a savage body check from Toronto’s Luke Richardson.

Quebec 3, Hartford 2--Marc Fortier scored 32 seconds into overtime at Hartford to complete a stirring comeback and end the Whalers’ 6-game unbeaten string.

The Nordiques trailed until Peter Stastny scored nearly 7 minutes into the final period.

New Jersey 4, Minnesota 4--Jack O’Callahan scored his first goal since Nov. 1 with just 1:58 left in regulation at Bloomington, Minn., to gain a tie for the Devils.

The North Stars are 3-1-4 in their last 8 games.

St. Louis 4, Washington 4--Greg Paslawski and Gino Cavallini scored third-period goals at St. Louis to give the Blues a tie.

The goals, the second in the game for each player, were scored less than 2 minutes apart in the middle of the period.