NHL ROUNDUP : Islanders Defeat Canadiens to Move Into a Tie for First

The amazing turnaround of the New York Islanders continued Wednesday night as they skated to a 6-3 victory at Montreal.

David Volek scored twice as the Islanders won their eighth in a row and moved into a tie with New Jersey for first place in the Patrick Division.

The Islanders opened the season with only five victories in the first 26 games and people were wondering if Al Arbour, who coached the Islanders to four Stanley Cups in the ‘70s, had lost his touch.

The patience of Arbour has paid off as the Islanders have won 13 of their last 14 games to go over .500.

The last time the Islanders won eight in a row was in October, 1982.

In seven weeks they have gone from last to first.

Hartford 5, Boston 5--The Bruins rallied from a 4-3 deficit early in the final period at Hartford, Conn., to take the lead, but the game was 17 seconds too long for Boston.

That’s how much time remained when Kevin Dineen beat goaltender Andy Moog from the slot with his 16th goal.

In the see-saw game the Whalers fell behind early, 3-0, before scoring four in a row.

Defenseman Ray Bourque scored twice for the Bruins.

Chicago 3, Minnesota 1--The Blackhawks have trouble against good teams from the other divisions, but in the Norris Division, they are the team in control.

With Jacques Cloutier stopping 25 shots, Chicago rebounded from two poor outings to increase its division lead to seven points.

Edmonton 6, Winnipeg 3--After their hot streak moved them into the race in the Smythe Division, the Jets have lost their last two games.

After losing at home to Quebec Tuesday night, they were never in the game at Edmonton. The Oilers lead the division by two points.