NHL ROUNDUP : North Stars Keep Their Edge Over Blackhawks

Ulf Dahlen snapped a second-period tie as the Minnesota North Stars began defense of their Campbell Conference championship Saturday night with a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, the team Minnesota beat to start its improbable run to the 1991 Stanley Cup finals.

The North Stars unfurled their Norris Division and conference banners and displayed their new black uniforms to the delight of a standing-room-only crowd of 15,274 in Minneapolis. Minnesota, last in NHL attendance the past four seasons, had only one sellout in the 1990-91 regular season.

Brian Bellows, cut last month from the Canada Cup club coached by the Blackhawks’ Mike Keenan, scored twice as the North Stars won their opener for only the second time in nine years. Dave Gagner, also spurned by Keenan, had Minnesota’s other goal.

Chicago, the league’s top regular-season team last year, is 0-1-1. The Blackhawks’ slide began in the 1991 playoffs, when they lost their first-round series to the North Stars, who had the 16th-best record.

Vancouver 5, San Jose 2--The expansion Sharks lost their home opener and their second game in two nights as Sergio Momesso had two goals and an assist before 10,888 at the Cow Palace in Daly City.

Cliff Ronning also scored his second goal in two nights, and Trevor Linden added an empty-net goal for the Canucks, who outshot the Sharks, 39-20.

New York Islanders 4, Boston 3--Tom Fitzgerald scored a key shorthanded goal and the Islanders used aggressive forechecking to open with a victory in Boston.

Fitzgerald knocked Boston defenseman Garry Galley off the puck at the corner of the Boston net and scored the goal that tied the game, 1-1. Rob DiMaio’s first NHL goal in three years put New York ahead, 2-1, at 1:03 of the second period, and Brent Sutter extended the lead to 3-1 at 4:30.

New York Rangers 2, Montreal 1--Sergei Nemchinov scored his first NHL goal at 1:42 of overtime, lifting the Rangers to victory in Montreal. Playing only his second NHL game, Nemchinov, a former Soviet Wings center selected 244th overall in the 1990 amateur draft, tucked in a shot past Montreal goaltender Patrick Roy as the puck bounced off the backboards. David Shaw had fired the shot from the point and it deflected off the boards to Nemchinov.

Quebec 4, Hartford 2--Joe Sakic and Mike Hough teamed up for two second-period goals to lead the Nordiques in Quebec.

Hartford was playing without its two top scorers from last season, John Cullen and Pat Verbeek, who are involved in contract disputes with the team.

New Jersey 7, St. Louis 2--Stephane Richer scored two goals in his debut with the Devils, including the 200th of his career.

Richer and Tom Chorske were acquired from Montreal on Sept. 20 in exchange for holdout captain Kirk Muller and goaltender Rollie Melanson. They combined on a goal 49 seconds into the game at East Rutherford, N.J.

Toronto 8, Detroit 5--Grant Fuhr made 45 saves and Wendel Clark had three goals and two assists as the Maple Leafs won in Toronto.

The Red Wings outshot the Maple Leafs, 50-25, but Toronto won because it got the better goaltending. Clark has five goals in his first two games this season. Brian Bradley, Gary Leeman, Dave Ellett, Michel Petit and Rob Pearson, with his first NHL goal, also scored for the Maple Leafs. Jimmy Carson, Paul Ysebaert, Steve Yzerman, Shawn Burr and Sergei Fedorov scored Detroit’s goals.

Washington 3, Buffalo 1--Dino Ciccarelli scored his second game-winning goal in as many nights, breaking a tie with 6:20 left, as the Capitals gained their first victory over the Sabres at Landover, Md., in nearly three years.

Jim Hrivnak had 24 saves to help the Capitals improve to 2-0.