NHL ROUNDUP : Islanders Win, Prove Even the Weak Survive

The Patrick Division of the NHL is so weak that a team can go six weeks without a victory and remain in playoff contention.

The New York Islanders are proof. They played the division leading New York Rangers Saturday at Uniondale, N.Y., not having won since early February.

Yet when captain Brent Sutter had a hat trick to lead the Islanders to a 6-3 victory--their first in 15 games--it put them in solid contention for a playoff berth.

The Islanders were five points ahead in the division before going 0-11-3. The victory put them only two points behind the third-place Pittsburgh Penguins.

There was a sigh of relief from Coach Al Arbour of the Islanders.

“We’re going to start moving again as a team,” he said. “We just had to win. We were rewarded for our efforts today. We have to go out there and believe in ourselves. Confidence is a big factor.”

The division that only a few years ago was rated the league’s strongest is now the weakest. Only the Rangers, almost sure to win the division, are above .500.

The Patrick is the only six-team division, so two of the teams will not qualify for postseason play. The way the teams take turns beating each other, it figures to go down to the last day of the regular season--April 1--before all four playoff spots are determined.

With Washington losing, the Islanders are tied for fourth place with the Capitals. Philadelphia is last, four points out of fourth.

Minnesota 6, Pittsburgh 2--Since Mario Lemieux, the best scorer in the league, was sidelined for the rest of the season by of a back problem, the Penguins had struggled--except at home.

They had won seven in a row at the Civic Arena, but that streak ended when rookie Mike Modano had a hat trick to lead the North Stars.

It was the 31st victory for the North Stars, and they moved ahead of Detroit in the battle for the last playoff spot in the Norris Division.

The Penguins are 1-7-0 in day games.

Quebec 6, Philadelphia 3--The Nordiques, winning for only the 12th time in 72 games, dealt a blow to the Flyers’ playoff hopes at Quebec.

The Nordiques ended an eight-game winless streak when Iiro Jarvi broke a 3-3 tie with a goal early in the final period, and Joe Sakic scored twice in the final 71 seconds to wrap it up.

The Flyers, who have not missed the playoffs since 1972, dropped deeper into the Patrick Division cellar.

Calgary 5, Hartford 4--The Flames took another step toward another Smythe Division title with a victory at Calgary.

Paul Ranheim blasted a low shot from the slot halfway through the final period for the winning goal. The Flames stretched their lead to seven points with seven games left.

The victory extended the Stanley Cup champions’ unbeaten streak to eight games (7-0-1).

New Jersey 4, Edmonton 1--Brendan Shanahan had two goals and an assist at Edmonton and the Devils strengthened their playoff chances.

The Devils dominated the game after spotting the Oilers the first goal.

The Devils are third in the Patrick Division, six points behind the leading Rangers. They lead third-place Pittsburgh by three points.

Detroit 4, St. Louis 3--With a chance to build their lead in the Norris Division to five points, the Blues built a 3-1 lead at St. Louis.

But Steve Yzerman scored his 57th goal to lead the Red Wings’ rally, and rookie Dan Shank tied it with 4:47 left in regulation. There were only 73 seconds left in overtime when Joe Kocur won it on a breakaway.

Brett Hull scored his 68th for the Blues.

Montreal 3, Chicago 2--Stephane Richer scored at 1:32 of overtime at Montreal to give the Canadiens the victory. His blast from the corner of the left faceoff circle was his 45th goal.

Winnipeg 5, Toronto 4--Peter Taglianetti scored with eight seconds left in overtime at Toronto to give the Jets the victory that virtually assured them of third place in the Smythe Division.

Vancouver 3, Washington 1--Trevor Linden’s fluke goal at 7:29 of the last period keyed the Canucks victory at Landover, Md. The puck bounced off a support right to Linden in front of an open net.