NHL ROUNDUP : Islanders, Goalie Showing New Life

Two months ago, the New York Islanders were in last place, and goaltender Mark Fitzpatrick was recovering from a life-threatening blood disorder.

But these days, the Islanders and Fitzpatrick are doing quite nicely.

Fitzpatrick stopped 30 shots Saturday at Uniondale, N.Y., and the Islanders beat Minnesota, 2-1, for their fourth victory in a row.

Fitzpatrick, who missed most of last season, improved his record to 6-6-1, and the Islanders climbed to .500, too (26-26-7). The late surge has put the Islanders only three points out of fourth place, the last playoff spot, in the Patrick Division.

“The team has been through a lot with injuries,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a positive sign. Two months ago I don’t think any of us thought we’d get to .500.”

Montreal 2, Pittsburgh 1--Defenseman Patrice Brisebois scored his first NHL goal to help the Canadiens beat the Penguins and clinch a playoff spot.

The Penguins, not only haven’t clinched a berth, they are in danger of becoming the first Stanley Cup champion to fail to make the playoffs the next season since the league expanded from its original six-team league.

The Penguins are only three points ahead of the surging New York Islanders in the battle for the final postseason spot in the Patrick Division.

Hartford 4, Quebec 0--The Nordiques’ road nightmare continued at Hartford, and they enabled Whalers’ goaltender Peter Sidorkiewicz to emerge from his slump.

Sidorkiewicz, who had lost 12 games in a row, stopped 21 shots for his first shutout of the season. The Nordiques are winless in all 30 road games (0-23-7).

Detroit 2, Chicago 1--Another strong game by goaltender Tim Cheveldae at Detroit enabled the Red Wings to win their fifth in a row and go 16 games over .500 for the first time in 22 years.

Cheveldae stopped 28 shots, and Ray Sheppard and Kevin Miller scored the goals that gave him his fourth win in a row.

Washington 7, Philadelphia 5--Goaltender Ron Hextall’s second major error of the game at Landover, Md., set up Mike Ridley’s tiebreaking goal in the third period.

Hextall twice failed to clear the puck, and the Capitals scored each time, spoiling the debut of Mark Recchi as a Flyer.

Recchi had two goals and an assist.

St. Louis 4, Toronto 3--Paul Cavallini scored with less than eight minutes remaining at St. Louis to complete the Blues’ comeback.

The Maple Leafs jumped off to a 2-0 and the Blues fought back to get the win.