HOCKEY STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS : Jet Stream Catches Up With Oilers

After taking one playoff beating after another over the years from the Edmonton Oilers, the Winnipeg Jets are finally fighting back.

It didn’t seem to make any difference whether it was a best-of-five series or best-of-seven, the Oilers always won. They won five series with the loss of only one game, while winning 18. Some of the games weren’t even contests.

Center Dale Hawerchuk suffered through the humiliating string of defeats.

There was a little extra satisfaction for Hawerchuk Sunday night at Winnipeg when he scored with 4:30 left in regulation to give the Jets a 2-1 victory and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The nine-year veteran intercepted a clearing pass in the Oilers’ zone and fired a quick 20-foot wrist shot, from which goaltender Bill Ranford was screened, for his third goal of the series.

With Grant Fuhr still unavailable, Ranford was back in the nets for Edmonton. He stopped 28 shots, but was under heavy pressure much more than the Jets’ netminder Bob Essena, who faced only two shots.

“We were determined to make a better showing this time,” Hawerchuk said. “If Ranford had not played extremely well, we would have won easily.

“Maybe, we are playing so well because we remember the alternative. Last year we had a terrible season and watched it on television. I didn’t enjoy it at all. I would rather lose to the Oilers than not be in the playoffs at all.”

The Oilers, who did not make it past the first round last year, their first season without Wayne Gretzky, scored first. Reijo Routsalainen scored on a power play at 16:35 of the first period. The Oilers had only nine more shots on goal.

St. Louis 6, Toronto 5--Of all the teams going into the playoffs, the Blues were playing the worst. They lost seven of their last eight games to fall out of first place in the Norris Division.

But, when Sergio Momesso took a pass from Brett Hull at 6:04 of overtime at Toronto and scored on a slapshot from the blue line, the Blues became the first team to take a 3-0 series lead.

The Blues appeared to have the game won in regulation when Momesso’s first goal of the series made it 5-3 midway through the last period. But Rob Ramage scored with 2:52 remaining and Tom Fergus tied it with 70 seconds left in regulation.

The Maple Leafs, who outshot the Blues, 46-40, had three shots in the overtime before Alan Bester stopped a breakaway by Hull. The Leafs never got the puck out of their zone before Momesso won it.

The Blues, who lost seven of their eight games against the Maple Leafs during the regular season, can wrap up the opening round with a victory Tuesday.

Chicago 2, Minnesota 1--Steve Larmer scored halfway through the third period at Bloomington, Minn., and the Blackhawks took a 2-1 series lead.

The North Stars thought they tied it 90 seconds after Larmer scored, but referee Bill McCreary ruled the puck never crossed the goal line on Dave Gagner’s shot.

Greg Millen, yanked by Coach Mike Keenan when he gave up three goals in the first period in the second game, was back in the nets for Chicago.

He stopped 31 shots in a near flawless performance. He lost his shutout after Wayne Presley’s backhander gave him a 2-0 lead with 4:33 left. There were only 36 seconds remaining when Mike Modano knocked in a rebound.