NHL ROUNDUP : Islanders End Trip Unbeaten

It took the New York Islanders the first month of the new year to climb from last place to first in the Patrick Division.

They were afraid a trip in which they were scheduled to face four of the top teams in the East would send them back into their early tailspin.

There was no reason to worry. Al Arbour’s talented young club is for real.

The Islanders completed the successful trip at Boston Saturday when they tied the score late in regulation and won, 4-3, on Randy Wood’s overtime goal.

The Islanders weren’t quite perfect. They were 3-0-1, winning at Buffalo and Pittsburgh and getting a draw at Philadelphia. They returned home with a firm grip on first place.

Boston goaltender Andy Moog, who played well, appeared to slip when Pat LaFontaine was circling the net in the overtime. He didn’t recover in time to stop Woods’ shot in the top right corner.

Moog immediately charged into the celebrating Islanders and had to be restrained. He left the locker room before explaining why he was so upset.

The Islanders, Stanley Cup champions the first four years of the ‘80s, were last in 1988-89, winning only 28 of 80 games. After 38 games this season they were 14-20-4.

But Arbour finally found the right combination. In their past 21 games, they are 16-4-1.

Detroit 7, Calgary 5--Bernie Federko, a key figure in an off-season trade with St. Louis, struggled for more than half his first season with the Red Wings.

The Red Wings’ playmaker is rolling now. He had the tiebreaking goal early in the last period and had three assists in the victory at Detroit. He has seven goals and nine assists in the past 12 games.

Hartford 6, Toronto 2--Centers Ray Ferraro and Ron Francis scored four minutes apart in the second period at Hartford, Conn., and the Whalers breezed to the victory.

Six Whalers had goals. Goaltender Peter Sidorkiewcz stopped 32 shots, and Allan Bestor of the Leafs stopped 34.

Montreal 7, Quebec 2--Stephane Richer scored three times, two goals coming 54 seconds apart at Montreal to lead the Canadiens.

Richer scored at 3:26 of the second period to put the Canadiens ahead, 3-2, then scored again at 4:20. He completed his hat trick with his 35th goal of the season on a power play at 15:23 of the last period.

It was the 11th consecutive defeat for the Nordiques, who have won only nine of 56 games this season.

St. Louis 7, New Jersey 0--Brett Hull scored his 51st goal and rookie goalie Vincent Riendeau stopped 26 shots for his first NHL shutout. The Blues pulled into a tie for second place in the Norris Division with Toronto, just four points behind Chicago.

Hull also had an assist and extended his scoring streak to 19 games, tying the club record. The goal was his 19th on a power play, also tying a club record.

Minnesota 6, Chicago 4--Gaetan Duchesne scored with 8:33 left in regulation at Bloomington, Minn., and the North Stars slowed, for the moment at least, the Blackhawks’ drive to the title in the Norris Division.

Mike Gartner and Don Barber each scored twice for the fourth-place Stars, who trail Chicago by 11 points.