NHL ROUNDUP : Blackhawks Post the Best Record in League by One Point Over Blues

Mike Keenan, coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, has a knack for rubbing people the wrong way. He also has a knack for coaching winning teams.

In three seasons, Keenan has turned the Blackhawks from one of the worst teams in the NHL to one of the best.

The Blackhawks, sparked once again by rookie goalie Ed Belfour, clinched the best record in the NHL when they closed the regular season Sunday at Chicago with a 5-1 victory over Detroit.

Belfour stopped 34 shots, giving up Steve Yzerman’s 51st goal early in the second period.

The Blackhawks broke it open early in the third period when Greg Gilbert and Mike Hudson scored 15 seconds apart.

Belfour finished the regular season with 43 victories, most of any goaltender.

The Blackhawks were 49-23-8 for 106 points, one more than St. Louis, and will have the home-ice edge if the two Norris Division rivals meet in the second round of the playoffs.

Keenan coached the Philadelphia Flyers for four seasons. In two of them they reached the final round of the Stanley Cup competition, losing each time to Wayne Gretzky and his powerful Edmonton Oilers.

The Flyers fired Keenan because the players stopped listening to him.

He may not have won any friends on the Blackhawks, but they are characteristic of Keenan teams. They work hard and play solid defense.

The Blackhawks finished 13-3-3 after Keenan went into a tirade following a poor performance.

“The guys play hard for Mike,” captain Dirk Graham said. “When you’re winning games, getting results, it’s well worth it.”

Steve Larmer, who hasn’t missed a game for nine consecutive seasons, also is impressed by Keenan.

“Mike goes into every game wanting to win,” he said, “and now the players are thinking that way, too.”

St. Louis 2, Minnesota 1--Brett Hull became the second-best goal scorer in a single season, but he would have rather had a division title.

Hull scored his 86th goal in the finale at St. Louis, but the Blues fell one point short of Chicago in the Norris Division.

Only Wayne Gretzky, who had 92 and 87, scored more goals in a season. Hull’s second-period goal broke a tie with Mario Lemieux, who had 85 in 1988-89.

Boston 7, Hartford 3--The Bruins opened a 5-0 lead at Boston and coasted to victory.

There were 210 minutes of penalties. The Whalers and Bruins open Stanley Cup action Wednesday at Boston.

New York Rangers 6, Pittsburgh 3--The Rangers, hoping it marked the end of their monthlong slump, clinched second place in the Patrick Division.

The Penguins, division champions, left Mario Lemieux and some of their other top players at home for the regular-season finale.

The Rangers were without Bernie Nichols and John Ogrodnick, but that was at least in part because both are in slumps.

Buffalo 5, Washington 2--Alexander Mogilny had his first NHL hat trick at Buffalo as the Sabres ended the Capitals’ hopes of finishing second in the Patrick Division.

Mogilny, a left wing from the Soviet Union, finished his second season with 30 goals.

New York Islanders 3, New Jersey 2--Randy Wood scored twice at East Rutherford, N.J., to lead the Islanders to their second victory in a row. The Islanders, who failed to make the playoffs, finished with the third-worst record in the NHL.

Edmonton 6, Winnipeg 3--Petr Klima had a hat trick at Edmonton to reach 40 goals for the first time in his NHL career.

Quebec 4, Montreal 1--Guy Lafleur didn’t get a point in his final game, but he had the satisfaction of seeing his old team, the Canadiens, beaten at Quebec. Lafleur starred for the Canadiens, then retired temporarily when he felt they didn’t treat him right.