NHL ROUNDUP : Hull’s 85th Helps Blues Stay in Race, 5-2

Brett Hull scored his 85th goal and the St. Louis Blues kept alive their slim hopes of winning the Norris Division with a 5-2 victory over Toronto Saturday night at St. Louis.

The Blues’ sixth consecutive victory put them one point behind the Chicago Blackhawks, who lost to the Minnesota North Stars.

The Blackhawks can win the division and post the best overall NHL record with a victory or tie tonight at Chicago against the Detroit Red Wings.

However, if the Red Wings win and the Blues beat Minnesota at St. Louis, St. Louis will win the division and have the best record in the league.

Hull tied Mario Lemieux for the third-highest total of goals in a season. Wayne Gretzky holds the record at 92 in 1980-81 and also had 87 in 1983-84.

Hull passed up a chance to pass Lemieux. With a shot at an empty net in the final seconds Hull passed the puck to Tim Tilley, who scored with six seconds left.

Adam Oates had three assists for the Blues and has 12 in four games.

Minnesota 2, Chicago 1--Brian Propp and Brian Bellows scored for the North Stars, and Jon Casey’s goaltending at Bloomington, Minn., prevented the Blackhawks from clinching the NHL’s best record.

Casey stopped 27 shots to outplay Chicago rookie, Ed Belfour. Casey stopped the first 27 shots, but Adam Creighton ruined his shutout bid with 16 seconds left.

If the Blackhawks get a victory or tie tonight, they will open the playoffs against the North Stars.

Montreal 4, Quebec 3--Guy Lafleur scored in his final appearance at Montreal, but Shayne Corson scored early in the last period to give the Canadiens the win. Lafleur, already in the Hall of Fame, will play his last game tonight in Quebec against his former team, the Canadiens.

Detroit 6, New York Rangers 5--Steve Yzerman reached 50 goals for the fourth season in a row in the victory over the slumping Rangers at Detroit.

Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 4--In a tie at Pittsburgh, the Penguins lost leading scorer Mark Recchi with a knee injury. The Penguins say Recchi, who had 40 goals and 113 points, will be ready for the playoffs.

Washington 4, New Jersey 0--Don Beaupre stopped 21 shots at Landover, Md., for his second shutout in a row and the Capitals beat the Devils to clinch third place in the Patrick Division.

Buffalo 5, Hartford 5--Uwe Krupp scored the Sabres’ last two goals in a four-goal third period at Hartford, Conn., that enabled Buffalo to tie.

New York Islanders 5, Boston 3-- Mark Fitzpatrick, out most of the season, stopped 27 Bruin shots at Uniondale, N.Y. to get his first victory of the season.