NHL Roundup : Penguins Can’t Stop Flames, Who Win 7th in a Row

The Calgary Flames convinced themselves about a month ago that they were the best team in the National Hockey League. Now they are proving it to the rest of the league.

The Flames overwhelmed the Pittsburgh Penguins with 50 shots Sunday night and skated to an easy 4-2 victory at Pittsburgh. The Flames are unbeaten in their last 11 games and have won 10 of them, the last seven in a row.

Doug Gilmour scored twice as the Flames dominated the leaders of the Patrick Division, holding them to 17 shots on goal.

Only the brilliance of Mario Lemieux allowed the Penguins to avert a humiliating defeat. After Joe Mullen, with an assist from Gilmour, gave Calgary an early lead, Lemieux set up Dave Hannan for the tying goal with just 1:29 left in the first period. Hannan scored on the Penguins’ second shot of the game.

In the second period, Lemieux scored his ninth short-handed goal and his 58th of the season, but Gilmour soon restored the two-goal lead.

Edmonton 3, New York Rangers 1--In one of their more impressive performances since the departure of Wayne Gretzky, the Oilers prevented the Rangers from taking over first place in the Patrick Division.

But it may have been a costly victory. Two of the Oilers’ best players, Mark Messier and Jari Kurri, injured their knees in collisions with the same Ranger, defenseman Michel Petit.

Messier banged into Petit in the first period, returned for two shifts in the second, then sat on the bench the rest of the game. Kurri had to be helped off the ice in the second period. Preliminary examinations did not reveal serious problems for either player.

Craig Simpson scored the tie-breaking goal at 13:25 of the second period, and goalie Bill Ranford, who stopped 36 shots, made the lead stand up. The Rangers have won only one of their last five games.

Vancouver 3, Philadelphia 2--At the All-Star break, it appeared that the Flyers were in a good position to challenge for first place in the Patrick Division. The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers seemed to be slipping, and Flyer goaltender Ron Hextall was rounding into form.

Instead, the Flyers are headed the other way. This loss to the lowly Canucks at Philadelphia was their third in a row. The other losses were at Toronto and at home against Edmonton.

The Canucks scored all three goals in the second period off Hextall.

Buffalo 5, St. Louis 2--Ray Sheppard and Mike Foligno each scored twice at Buffalo as the Sabres ended a four-game losing streak.

The Sabres scored four of their goals right after the Blues failed to clear the puck after goalie Greg Millen made saves.