NHL ROUNDUP : Goal-Less Lemieux Still Provides Big Assist

Mario Lemieux still hasn’t snapped his goal-less streak, but it hardly mattered because Pittsburgh Penguin goaltender Wendell Young stopped nearly everything the Montreal Canadiens threw at him Saturday night at Pittsburgh.

Lemieux was held without a goal for the fourth consecutive game, but he fed Randy Hillier for the game-winning goal at 1:40 of overtime as the Penguins rallied to beat the Canadiens, 2-1.

Lemieux skated down the slot on a two-on-two break, then passed to Hillier, whose 10-footer slipped past goaltender Patrick Roy. Lemieux assisted on both Penguin goals, giving him eight in four games.

Pittsburgh improved to 2-1-1 despite Lemieux’s longest goal-less streak since a five-game drought in 1985-86, his second season. The two-time scoring champion had never gone more than three games without a goal at the start of a season.

Young, in his first action of the season, stopped 28 of 29 attempts after Tom Barrasso left the game at 5:49 of the first period with a bruised right hand.

Montreal dropped to 4-2 even though Roy turned back 30 of 32 shots.

Minnesota 3, Quebec 2--Brian Bellows’ second goal broke a 2-2 tie with 2:40 to play as the North Stars remained the lone unbeaten team with the win at Bloomington, Minn.

The last time Minnesota (4-0-1) was undefeated after five games was 1982, when it also opened 4-0-1. The North Stars, who missed the playoffs in 1986-87 and 1987-77 and was the 15th of 16 qualifiers last season, lead the league with nine points.

Quebec (1-4) has lost three in a row.

Guy Lafleur tied the score with 11:05 to go when he beat Kari Takko on a shot from center ice. Lafleur has four goals in five games, 540 in his 16-year career, and is three points shy of becoming the ninth player to reach 1,300.

Washington 4, Calgary 4--Defenseman Bill Houlder scored an unassisted goal with six seconds remaining to give the Capitals the tie at Landover, Md.

After the Capitals had pulled goalie Don Beaupre in favor of a sixth skater, Houlder intercepted a clearing pass at the left point and took a slap shot that went through several players before catching the far corner of the net. It was Washington’s first goal this season by a defenseman and capped a wild final 7:05 of regulation in which three goals were scored and Calgary had two leads erased.

After neither team came up with a good scoring chance in the overtime, Washington earned a tie and a rare point against Calgary. The Capitals are 2-9-2 against the Flames since Oct. 23, 1985.

Philadelphia 3, N.Y. Islanders 3--Dave Poulin’s goal with 6:39 remaining capped a three-goal Philadelphia comeback as the Flyers gained a tie at Uniondale, N.Y.

Trailing, 3-0, the Flyers started their comeback with a second-period goal by Doug Sulliman.

In the third, Mark Howe scored his first goal on a power play, beating the screened Glenn Healy from 45 feet. Poulin then tied the game a little over four minutes later when he jammed a cross-ice pass behind Healy from the right of the crease.

The Flyers were without two of their top scorers. Rick Tocchet was a late scratch with back spasms and Tim Kerr sat out with shoulder problems.

New Jersey 3, Hartford 2--Sean Burke stopped 29 shots and formerWhaler Sylvain Turgeon scored his fifth goal in five games to lead the Devils at Hartford, Conn.

Both goals scored against Burke deflected off the skates of New Jersey defensemen.

Doug Brown scored what proved to be the winning goal three minutes into the third period, which gave the Devils a 3-1 cushion.

St. Louis 2, Chicago 1--Peter Zezel scored the winning goal on a second-period deflection at St. Louis, giving the Blues their second victory over the Blackhawks this season.

Doug Wilson got his fourth goal and eighth point in five games for Chicago (2-3).

Detroit 6, Buffalo 2--Gerard Gallant scored twice and Dave Barr added a shorthanded goal as the Red Wings won at Detroit.

Gallant, who begins a five-game suspension Thursday for slashing Vancouver’s Garth Butcher last week, keyed a three-goal first period when he converted Steve Yzerman’s centering pass while Detroit held a man advantage.

Winnipeg 5, Toronto 1--The Jets broke a three-game losing streak with the win at Toronto.