NHL ROUNDUP : Defenseman Coffey Sets Scoring Record

Pittsburgh’s Paul Coffey broke the NHL scoring record for defensemen and Bob Errey had three goals as the Penguins beat the New York Islanders, 8-5, Thursday night at Pittsburgh.

Coffey had two assists to give him 1,053 points for his career. That broke the record of 1,052 by the Islanders’ Denis Potvin, a new Hall of Famer.

Coffey has 744 assists and 309 goals in 815 games over 12 seasons. Potvin had 742 assists and 310 goals in 1,060 games in 15 seasons.

The record was broken when Coffey slipped the puck to Errey behind the New York net in the third period, when the Penguins broke the game open.

Coffey was mobbed by his teammates, who cleared the bench as the crowd of 14,808 gave him a standing ovation. The game was halted briefly as Penguin General Manager Craig Patrick gave Coffey a plaque in an on-ice ceremony.

“It’s a thrill,” Coffey said. “Denis Potvin is one of the greatest defensemen that ever played the game. To have a chance to even share numbers with someone like him is one thing, but to have a chance to pass him is another.”

Errey earned his hat trick with an open-net goal with 41 seconds left.

Pittsburgh took a 3-0 lead early in the first period on goals by Errey, Kevin Stevens and Phil Bourque.

Chicago 4, Edmonton 2--Jeremy Roenick scored two goals in the third period as the Blackhawks defeated the Oilers at Chicago.

Adam Creighton scored from outside the crease 3:15 into the final period to break a 1-1 tie.

Roenick’s first goal came 82 seconds later and made it 3-1.

Craig Muni scored for Edmonton, and Joe Murphy almost tied it up, but Blackhawk goalie Craig Muni made a nice save.

Roenick clinched the victory ith an empty-net goal with 20 seconds left, his sixth of the season.

The victory was the fourth in a row for the Blackhawks, and Edmonton lost for the fifth time in seven games (1-5-1).

Philadelphia 5, Quebec 3--Andrei Lomakin had two goals as the Flyers scored five consecutive times to defeat the Nordiques at Philadelphia.

The Flyers extended their home unbeaten streak against the Nordiques to nine games (8-0-1). The loss extended the Nordiques’ winless streak to five (0-4-1).

Detroit 6, St. Louis 3--Rookie defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov scored their first NHL goals during a five-goal second period to lead the Red Wings at Detroit.

Calgary 6, Toronto 4--The Flames scored on their first three shots on goalie Grant Fuhr and went on to defeat the Maple Leafs at Calgary. Jeff Reese replaced Fuhr in the second period.

Marc Habscheid had two goals for Calgary.

Minnesota 8, San Jose 2--Brian Bellows, Dave Gagner and Marc Bureau scored second-period goals as the North Stars broke open the game at San Francisco.

The North Stars, who scored four times in six power-play situations, led the Sharks, 2-1, at the end of the first period.

Boston 3, Vancouver 3--Vladmir Ruzicka scored 1:23 into the third period to give the Bruins a tie at Vancouver.

Boston led, 2-0, but second-period goals by Petr Nedved, Cliff Ronning and Geoff Courtnall gave the Canucks a 3-2 lead.