NHL ROUNDUP : Blues Bring Penguins Back to Earth in a Hurry

The Pittsburgh Penguins came down with a thud Saturday night at St. Louis.

After a slow start, the Stanley Cup champions had been moving up in the tough Patrick Division. In their most recent game against San Jose on Thursday night, they beat the Sharks, 8-0.

But the Blues are no expansion team. They were ready for the champions.

Ron Sutter scored twice to lead a five-goal onslaught in the first period that enabled the Blues to skate to a 6-1 victory.

Sutter started the scoring four minutes into the game and by 16:42, when Sutter scored again, it was 5-0 and Tom Barrasso was a beaten goaltender.

The Penguins (14-10-4) had been on a streak, going 9-3-2 in their last 14 games.

Chicago 5, New York Islanders 2--Jeremy Roenick made sure the Blackhawks ended their misery on the road at Uniondale, N.Y.

Roenick scored four goals and the Blackhawks ended an eight-game winless string. It figured to end at Uniondale. In the last 10 visits there, the Blackhawks are 7-0-3.

Toronto 6, Vancouver 3--The road is bringing the Canucks back to the pack in the Smythe Division.

When defenseman Dave Ellett scored twice on power plays at Toronto, he assured the Canucks of their third loss in four games on the trip.

The Maple Leafs made it easy for goaltender Grant Fuhr, who signed a four-year contract Thursday that gave him the third-highest salary in the NHL.

Washington 4, Minnesota 2--Dale Hunter scored the tie-breaking goal with 40 seconds left at Bloomington, Minn., to decide a hard-fought battle.

Don Beaupre, who enjoyed some of his best seasons with the North Stars, had to make only 18 saves for the Capitals. His former teammate, Jon Casey, had to stop 29 shots.

Montreal 5, Calgary 1--Guy Carbonneau had a goal and an assist at Montreal in a three-goal second period that carried the Canadiens to an easy victory.

With their 19th victory, the Canadiens took a 13-point lead in the Adams Division.

Philadelphia 5, Boston 3--The Flyers, in their second game under new Coach Bill Dineen, ended their eight-game winless streak with a comeback at Boston.

Rod Brind’Amour and Brad Jones scored 16 seconds apart to complete a four-goal third-period rally that brought the Flyers from behind.

New Jersey 2, Detroit 2--The Devils’ Claude Vigrain scored with four minutes left in the second period as two of the league’s better teams tied at East Rutherford, N.J.

Hartford 6, Buffalo 6--Murray Craven had three goals for the Whalers at Hartford, Conn., but they needed Rod Brown’s goal with five minutes left in regulation to earn the tie.