NHL ROUNDUP : Oilers Get Back Fuhr and Fury, Beat Devils, 4-0

Grant Fuhr came back and brought the Edmonton Oilers with him.

Fuhr returned to the NHL from a suspension for substance abuse that lasted nearly five months, stopping 27 shots by the New Jersey Devils Monday night as the Oilers scored a 4-0 victory at East Rutherford, N.J.

“It’s nice to get the shutout,” Fuhr said after his first game in nearly a year. “It’s a real good feeling and a long time coming. It’s nice to be back.

“The way the guys played just made it that much easier. I just wanted to come out and play solid.”

Fuhr again looked like the best goalie in the world and the Oilers looked like the defending Stanley Cup champions for one of the few times this season.

In championship form, Fuhr could make the Oilers--third in the Smythe Division at 19-28-3--a threat in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“I thought, the guys would protect him as much as possible,” Oiler Coach John Muckler said. “It’s kind of a Cinderella story, right from Hollywood. First game back and he gets a shutout.”

It was the Oilers’ first shutout since a 7-0 playoff victory over the Kings April 18 and first in the regular season since a 5-0 victory over Minnesota with Bill Ranford in goal Dec. 19, 1989. It was Fuhr’s first shutout since a defeat of Buffalo Nov. 17, 1989.

Fuhr was spectacular and so were his teammates. They certainly didn’t look like a team that had lost its previous three games and six of seven.

Petr Klima, Joe Murphy, Craig MacTavish and Glenn Anderson scored for the Oilers. Edmonton also killed six Devil power plays.

N.Y. Islanders 5, N.Y. Rangers 4--Pat LaFontaine, involved in a bitter contract dispute with the Islanders, had a goal and two assists in a victory over the Rangers at New York.

LaFontaine’s 34th goal gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 5:18 of the second period. After Bernie Nicholls tied the score with a goal at 15:51, LaFontaine stole the puck from defenseman Randy Moller and fed David Volek for his second goal of the game and 21st of the season at 17:16.

Defenseman Joe Reekie made the score 5-3 at 18:48, and Mike Gartner of the Rangers scored his 34th goal with 23 seconds to play.

Philadelphia 5, Chicago 3--Scott Mellanby’s goal early in the third period broke a tie and lifted the Flyers over the slumping Blackhawks at Philadelphia.

The Flyers had lost five of their previous six games and had lost their previous two at home to Chicago. The Blackhawks, tied for second in the NHL in points with 77, have only four victories in their last 11 games.

Quebec 3, Vancouver 3--Steven Finn scored with 33 seconds to play in regulation to give the Nordiques a tie with the Canucks at Vancouver.