NHL ROUNDUP : Blackhawks Rout Canucks, 8-0

Ed Belfour made 28 saves for his 37th victory and Dirk Graham had two goals and two assists as the Chicago Blackhawks trounced the Vancouver Canucks, 8-0, Sunday night at Chicago.

Belfour is within one victory of Tony Esposito’s club record for most wins set in 1969. It was Belfour’s fourth shutout, tops in the league.

The Blackhawks increased their league-leading total of short-handed goals to 16 on Chris Chelios’ second-period score.

Troy Murray had two goals and an assist, and Adam Creighton had a goal and two assists as Chicago moved to within one point of Norris Division-leading St. Louis.

Boston 3, New Jersey 1--John Carter’s short-handed goal with 57 seconds left in the second period snapped a tie, and Cam Neely and Ray Bourque each had a goal and an assist as the Bruins beat the Devils at East Rutherford, N.J.

The victory gave the Adams Division-leading Bruins 84 points and an eight-point lead over second-place Montreal.

The victory snapped New Jersey’s four-game unbeaten (2-0-2) streak against Boston.

After a scoreless first period, Brendan Shanahan scored for New Jersey at 1:46 of the second period.

Toronto 4, Hartford 4--Gary Leeman scored two goals, including a rebound shot with 2:37 left in regulation, to get the Maple Leafs even with the Whalers at Hartford, Conn.

Rookie goalie Peter Ing of Toronto made 29 saves, including stops in the last minute of regulation on shots by Kevin Dineen and Pat Verbeek.

The Whalers took a 4-3 lead on Mike Tomlak’s goal with 9:27 left.