NHL ROUNDUP : Flickering Flames Lose Again

Going into this week the Calgary Flames were convinced they were the best team in the Smythe Division and probably the best in the National Hockey League.

Now, the Flames are having a hard time convincing people they are the best in their division.

When Craig MacTavish, better known for his defense, had a hat trick Saturday night to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 6-2 victory, it climaxed a shocking week at Calgary.

It began Tuesday night with Vancouver winning at Calgary, 3-2. On Thursday the Kings prevailed in overtime, 4-3.

Edmonton’s victory could be a costly one just when the Oilers were moving into contention. Mark Messier, the Oilers’ leader, reinjured his knee.

Messier has been in and out of the lineup all season and missed two games last week because of the knee.

In the second period, with the Oilers already leading, 3-0, Messier crashed into Calgary’s Doug Gilmour.

Messier lay face down on the ice for a couple of minutes, then limped into the dressing room. The Oilers have won only one of the 11 games Messier has missed.

MacTavish had only three goals in the Oilers’ first 32 games. He scored in each period to double his output.

St. Louis 5, Chicago 0--Concentrating on defensing Brett Hull, the Blackhawks left Dave Lowry loose, and he responded with a goal and three assists as the Blues cut Chicago’s lead in the Norris Division to three points. The Blues are unbeaten in the last eight games (6-0-2).

Vincent Riendeau stopped 20 shots and his second shutout improved his record to 13-4-3.

Montreal 3, New York Rangers 1--Mike McPhee returned in time to end the Canadiens’ slump at Montreal after missing 16 games because of a groin injury.

McPhee scored on a deflection at 6:23 of the second period, and 33 seconds later, Mark Pederson scored as Montreal ended a four-game winless streak.

New Jersey 4, Quebec 1--The Devils moved to within three points of first place when Peter Stastny, in his first appearance at Quebec since being traded to New Jersey last March, had a goal and an assist.

Boston 6, Minnesota 2--Dave Christian triggered a four-goal second period and the Bruins continued their mastery of the North Stars at Boston.

Christian scored on a giveaway by goaltender Brian Hayward 29 seconds into the period. Two more quick goals sent Hayward to the showers.

The Bruins are 37-6-7 against Minnesota at Boston Garden.

Andy Moog, playing his seventh game in a row, extended his unbeaten streak to six games. He lost his shutout with less than six minutes remaining.

Hartford 1, Philadelphia 0--Rob Brown, obtained Friday, picked up a loose puck on a power play and scored the only goal at 5:26 of the last period at Hartford, Conn.

Pittsburgh 4, New York Islanders 3--At Uniondale, N.Y., Bob Errey scored halfway through the final period and the Penguins extended their unbeaten streak to six games. The Islanders had been unbeaten in five.

Paul Coffey assisted on the Penguins’ first goal and became the second defenseman to get 1,000 points. Denis Potvin was the first.

Toronto 5, Washington 2--After getting only one goal in the previous 22 power-play attempts, the Leafs got three in this game at Landover, Md.

Detroit 5, Winnipeg 2--Steve Yzerman had a hat trick and assisted on the other two goals to lead the Red Wings at Winnipeg.

Detroit, third in the Norris Division, is 6-1-0 in its last seven games and has a 19-14-4 record.