NHL ROUNDUP : Sabres Defeat Hartford to Remain Unbeaten at Buffalo

The NHL’s only unbeaten home team remained that way Sunday night when the Buffalo Sabres used a three-goal second period to beat the Hartford Whalers, 4-2, at Buffalo.

Phil Housley, Dave Andreychuk and Uwe Krupp scored in a five-minute span of the second period as the Sabres won for the ninth consecutive time at home. Buffalo is 10-0-1 at Memorial Auditorium.

“We know what we have to do at home,” Housley said. “We’re very comfortable now and we have a lot of confidence. We’re not worried about (visiting teams looking to end the streak) when we go into a game. We just have to worry about what the Buffalo Sabres are going to do and how we have to approach the game.” The win gave Buffalo sole possession of first place in the Adams Division and the highest point total in the NHL (34), one ahead of Minnesota and two ahead of Adams Division rival Montreal.

The teams traded first-period goals before Housley, Andreychuk and Krupp scored in the second period to give Buffalo a 4-1 lead.

Minnesota 5, Chicago 3--Dave Gagner snapped a 2-2 tie and Mike Gartner followed with two goals at Bloomington, Minn., as the North Stars increased their Norris Division lead.

Jon Casey, starting his 12th straight game in goal, made 51 saves for Minnesota, which is 13-1 at home. Casey’s 14 victories lead the NHL. Only Buffalo has a better home winning percentage.

Minnesota leads the league with 16 wins and its 33 points trail only Buffalo’s 34. The North Stars didn’t get their 33rd point until their 40th game last season.

New York Rangers 3, Quebec 1--John Ogrodnick scored twice and Lindy Ruff converted a penalty shot at New York as the Rangers halted a three-game winless streak.

It was the second visit in 24 days to Madison Square Garden for Nordiques Coach Michel Bergeron, who was fired by the Rangers on the final weekend of last season. The Nordiques also lost to New York Nov. 2.