NHL ROUNDUP : Last-Second Goal Lifts Sabres Over the Oilers

When Rick Dudley played in the National Hockey League he was known as an inspired fellow who often played above his ability.

As the new coach of the Buffalo Sabres, Dudley asked as much from his players as he gave the same club more than a decade ago.

Dudley was warned that he would find many players who would not always give their best. Apparently, Dudley has reached them, because the Sabres are off to one of their best starts.

Dave Andreychuk scored with just one second left at Buffalo Sunday night to give the Sabres a 6-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

The Sabres blew a 5-3 lead, but recovered to take sole possession of first place in the Adams Division with a 12-4-2 record.

With five seconds left Andreychuk picked up a loose puck near center ice, skated in and just beat the buzzer with a shot through the pads of goaltender Grant Fuhr.

“I think Rick has given us a lot of confidence,” Andreychuk said. “He’s made us want to go out and work for them (the coaching staff) and that’s something we haven’t had in a long time.”

Dudley, who played on the Sabre team in 1975 that reached the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, has the Sabres believing in themselves.

“My philosophy is simple,” Dudley said. “I think people basically motivate themselves. If you remove the obstacles in the work place then you have a happy, motivated group of people.

“The worst thing that could happen to us is to get cocky. We got the early two-goal lead and didn’t learn anything when they caught up. We let down again after getting the second two-goal lead. I hope we learned a lesson.”

Winnipeg 3, Calgary 2--The Jets, last in the Smythe Division, surprised the defending Stanley Cup champions at Winnipeg.

Greg Paslawski and Dave Ellett scored for the Jets in the first eight minutes and the Flames never caught up.

Joe Nieuwendyk put the Flames within a goal when he scored with 7:22 left. But goalie Bob Essensa, who stopped 29 shots in his first start since being recalled from the minors, stopped the Flames after that.

N.Y. Rangers 4, N.Y. Islanders 2--The Rangers stormed back from an early 2-0 deficit at New York.

Jan Erixon goal late in the second period snapped a 2-2 tie and the Islanders’ record in the last 12 games fell to 1-9-2.

The Rangers improved to 11-4-3 and increased their lead in the Patrick Division to eight points.

Chicago 4, Hartford 2--Steve Larmer’s rebound shot from just outside the crease broke a 2-2 deadlock and the Blackhawks won their seventh game in a row at home.

The Blackhawks, who lead the Norris Division by six points, have the most points in the league with 29.

It was the sixth consecutive game in which the Blackhawks came from behind to win. A year ago they were 4-10-4 and did not get their 29th point until Jan. 1.

Minnesota 6, Toronto 3--Brian Bellows and Helmut Balderis each scored twice as the North Stars improved to 9-1-0 at Bloomington, Minn.

Balderis, a 37-year-old Latvian playing his first season in the NHL, had only one goal in his previous seven games. He scored on a power play halfway through the first period to give Minnesota a 3-1 lead.

In the second period, he added another goal on a power play to increase the lead to 5-2.

New Jersey 3, Philadelphia 3--Janne Ojanen knocked in a rebound with 75 seconds left in regulation for his seventh goal as the Devils rallied to tie the Flyers at Philadelphia.

Mike Bullard’s second goal of the game halfway through the third period gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead.

It was a busy night for goaltenders. Sean Burke of the Devils stopped 39 shots, while Bruce Hoffert stopped 33.