NHL PLAYOFF ROUNDUP : Blues Make Turnaround, Win, 4-2

The St. Louis Blues figured to be in trouble. They had finished the regular season playing worse than pitiful Quebec, losing seven of their last eight games.

They had also lost seven of their eight games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, their opponent in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

So Brett Hull, the leading goal scorer in the NHL this season, got them off to a fast start, and the Blues beat the Maple Leafs, 4-2, Wednesday night at St. Louis.

Blues Coach Brian Sutter immediately warned against excess euphoria over the victory, but he added that he understood its importance.

“It’s one game, one game,” Sutter said. “It’s going to be a long series, but this was a mighty big one.”

Ron Wilson, 33, a player-coach in the minors until the Blues acquired him from Winnipeg in late January, had two goals. He had only three in 33 games during the regular season.

“I thought my last days in the NHL were a couple of years ago,” said Wilson, who plays on the Blues’ checking line and quarterbacks the power-play unit. “The NHL was the furthest thing from my mind. This is fun.”

The Blues beat Toronto goalie Allan Bester, who was 3-0 against them during the regular season. He stopped 29 shots but was under heavy pressure throughout.

Rookie Curtis Joseph, who was in the nets for the Blues’ only victory, stopped 27 shots to give them a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Blues, who did not relinquish the lead after Hull scored at 5:18 of the first period, were the only home team to win in the first four playoff games.

Hull set an NHL record for right wings when he scored 72 goals during the regular season.

“Getting the first playoff goal was a bigger thrill,” Hull said.

Winnipeg 7, Edmonton 5--At Edmonton, the Oilers were holding a 4-2 lead against Winnipeg, which they had beaten 18 of 19 times in the playoffs.

But Jet veteran defenseman Moe Mantha scored two minutes into the second period, and it triggered a four-goal uprising that beat the Oilers.

Pat Elynuik put the Jets in front, 5-4, in the second minute of the final period, and Brent Ashton, another much-traveled veteran, gave them a two-goal margin halfway through the period.

There were still more than six minutes remaining when Petr Klima brought the Oilers within one, but an empty net goal by Teppo Numminen of Finland completed the scoring.

Minnesota 2, Chicago 1--Brian Bellows provided the scoring and Jon Casey did the job in the nets at Chicago for the North Stars.

Bellows scored halfway through the first period, then scored the game-winner six minutes into the final period.

“Once they tied the score, we basically took the game to them and reiterated our game plan,” Bellows said.

Casey stopped 30 shots fired by the Norris Division champions, losing his shutout when Denis Savard scored on a power-play less than a minute before Bellows scored his second.

“I’ll trade this victory anytime for 56 goals and 100 points anytime,” said Bellows, the veteran center who had 99 points and 55 goals this season.

Chicago Coach Mike Keenan called it: “A case of solo hockey against team hockey. If you play solo hockey in the playoffs, you lose.”