NHL ROUNDUP : Oilers Get Break, Beat Whalers, 3-1

The Edmonton Oilers received a break in their pursuit of the Kings Saturday night.

With Bill Ranford stopping 21 shots, the Oilers scored a 3-1 victory over the Hartford Whalers at Edmonton.

In moving to within five points of the second-place Kings in the Smythe Division, the Oilers didn’t have to face goalie Kay Whitmore. It was the Whalers’ third game in four nights. In the first two, Whitmore shut out the Kings and Winnipeg.

His backup, Peter Sidorkiewicz, had 28 saves, but the shutout string lasted less than 12 minutes.

The third-place Oilers moved closer to clinching a playoff spot. They lead fourth-place Winnipeg by six points and fifth-place Calgary by 10.

Vancouver 6, Calgary 4--The Canucks moved closer to the Smythe Division title at Calgary.

Petr Nedved broke a 4-4 tie midway through the third period and the Canucks ran their unbeaten string to 4-0-2. The Canucks lead the Kings by 11 points.

New York Islanders 4, Buffalo 1--With Mark Fitzpatrick stopping 38 shots at Uniondale, N.Y., the Islanders moved to within four points of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Toronto 6, Pittsburgh 3--Mario Lemieux scored his 400th NHL goal, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Maple Leafs.

Toronto, 10-1-1 at home since the All-Star break, remained six points behind Minnesota in its bid for the last playoff berth in the Norris Division.

New York Rangers 6, St. Louis 0--Tony Amonte had a hat trick at St. Louis and the Rangers moved seven points in front in the Patrick Division.

John Vanbiesbrouck, taking advantage of the absence of the league’s top goal scorer, Brett Hull, stopped 27 shots. Hull was suffering back spasms.

Philadelphia 3, Washington 1--Keith Acton scored the tiebreaking goal with less than two minutes to play at Philadelphia. The Capitals dropped seven points behind the Rangers in the Patrick Division title chase.

Minnesota 4, Detroit 1--Mike Modano had a goal and two assists at Bloomington, Minn.

Boston 5, Quebec 4--Bob Carpenter scored at 1:27 of overtime at Quebec to end the Bruins’ five-game winless streak.

San Jose 3, New Jersey 2--Johan Garpenlov scored his second goal of the season at Daly City, Calif., to give the Sharks their 16th victory.