NHL Playoffs Roundup : Flames Reassert Control Against Canucks, 4-0

At first, the Calgary Flames seemed to think they could just go through the motions against the Vancouver Canucks and breeze into the second round of Stanley Cup competition.

That frame of mind was apparent last Wednesday night when the Canucks stunned the Flames, 4-3, in the opener of the best-of-seven series at Calgary.

However, it didn’t take the Flames long to wake up. They came back the next night to even the series.

Then, Saturday night at Vancouver, Canada, they used the brilliant goaltending of Mike Vernon to gain a 4-0 victory and take a 2-1 lead in the series.

In the first two games at home, the Flames’ offense was wide open, firing 83 shots on goal. But, on the road, they went into a defensive shell. They had only 15 shots against goalie Kirk McLean. But Hakan Loob scored on two of the shots, including a 40-footer early in the second period that gave Vernon all the help he needed.

Pittsburgh 5, New York Rangers 3--Phil Esposito, the Ranger general manager, decided he would replace Michel Bergeron as coach of the team when there were only two games left in the regular season. But, for Esposito, the Rangers lost both those games and are down 3-0 in the playoffs.

Although the Rangers’ effort in this game was their best of the playoffs, Pittsburgh goalie Tom Barrasso responded with a tremendous performance, stopping 42 shots in the Penguins’ victory at New York.

Dan Quinn had two goals and an assist to lead the Pittsburgh attack.

Washington 4, Philadelphia 3--The Capitals regained the home ice advantage and took a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven series when Keith Miller scored 51 seconds into overtime at Philadelphia.

Miller picked up the rebound of Mike Ridley’s shot behind the net, circled and backhanded the puck off the stick of defenseman Kjell Samuelsson of the Flyers and into the net.

Only brilliant goaltending by the Flyers’ Ron Hextall prevented a one-sided victory. He stopped 40 shots.

Montreal 5, Hartford 4--On home ice, the Whalers played better, but the result was the same. Stephane Richer scored five minutes into overtime at Hartford to give the Canadiens a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Canadiens can advance to the second round with a victory tonight at Hartford. Including league games, Montreal has won 10 of its last 11 against the Whalers.

Boston 4, Buffalo 2--After finding out Thursday night at home that they could beat the pesky Sabres, the Bruins took a 2-1 lead with this victory at Buffalo.

Cam Neely’s second goal with just over five minutes left in regulation broke a 2-2 tie. Robert Sweeney later added an empty-net goal to give the Bruins a cushion.

The battling Sabres outshot the Bruins, 38-28, but Andy Moog did a solid job in the nets for his second victory in the series.

St. Louis 5, Minnesota 3--Brett Hull’s first goal at Bloomington, Minn., capped a three-goal first-period outburst by the Blues and his second put a halt to a determined North Star rally.

The Blues, who have won seven in a row, including the three playoff games, can clinch this series with a victory tonight. Only two teams in National Hockey League history have come back from 3-0 deficits.

Chicago 4, Detroit 2--The Red Wings went into a slump the last month of the regular season and it is continuing in the playoffs.

Denis Savard and Troy Murray scored early in the third period at Chicago to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead in the series.

Savard’s shot broke a 2-2 tie at 1:34 of the final period and Murray scored two minutes later.

The Red Wings had only seven shots on goal in the last period, three of them on three power plays.