NHL ROUNDUP : 294 Penalty Minutes in Capitals-Flyers Game

The NHL’s attempt to clean up the sport suffered a severe setback Sunday at Landover, Md.

The Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals had far more fights than goals in the Capitals’ 5-2 victory.

The league has been making a big thing of cutting down on fights this season, but brawl followed brawl in this game and 294 minutes in penalties were assessed.

It was the third victory in a row for the Capitals and the fourth loss in five games for the Flyers since high-scoring Rick Tocchet suffered a groin injury.

Tocchet, a spectator in the press box, almost got into a fight with a fan who was taunting him. He was restrained before a punch was thrown.

That incident followed the biggest brawl, with eight minutes left. Everybody was throwing punches and referee Don Hoharski handed out 136 minutes to 10 players.

Concerned about toughness, the Capitals recently added tough guys John Kordic, acquired from Toronto, and Ken Sabourin, obtained from Calgary. Kordic had 22 minutes and Sabourin 17 Sunday. Kordic hasn’t scored a point since coming to the Capitals, but he has 58 minutes in penalties.

“These guys allow our other players to play with a more secure feeling,” Washington Coach Terry Murray said.

Kevin Hatcher, one of the few who spent more time playing hockey than brawling, had a goal and two assists to help the Capitals build a 5-0 lead in 41 minutes.

Eighteen fighting penalties were given out.

Buffalo 2, Winnipeg 0--Daren Puppa stopped 24 shots and Dave Snuggerud scored a short-handed goal early in the third period at Winnipeg.

It was Buffalo’s first victory in eight games and ended the Jets’ four-game unbeaten run.

Boston 7, Quebec 4--Craig Janney scored twice, one during a three-goal flurry in 2:14 of the third period at Quebec to give the Bruins a surprisingly difficult victory.

The Nordiques fought back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to tie before the third-period flurry that wiped them out.

New Jersey 2, Vancouver 0--Chris Terreri stopped 27 shots at East Rutherford, N.J., to record his first shutout and New Jersey’s first in two seasons.

Hartford 3, Chicago 1--Rob Brown scored twice at Hartford to lead the Whalers past the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks have lost two in a row.