NHL ROUNDUP : Devils Catch Islanders on Last-Minute Goal

The way the New Jersey Devils have been playing lately, even a tie is cause enough for smiles.

But there were no smiles in the locker room of the New York Islanders because they considered Saturday night’s 2-2 tie against the Devils at East Rutherford, N.J., another point squandered in their attempt to earn a Patrick Division playoff berth.

The Islanders felt the game was won, but Stephane Richer scored on a 50-foot slap shot with 51 seconds to play in regulation.

“This is obviously a setback,” Islander goalie Mark Fitzpatick said. “It’s a tie, but it feels like a loss. Any time you lose the lead in the final minute, it hurts. It hurts more now. We don’t need ties. We need wins.”

The tie moved New Jersey into third place in the division, a point ahead of Pittsburgh, while hurting the Islanders’ already slim playoff chances. New York is eight points behind the fourth-place Penguins.

Until Richer’s 28th goal of the season, it appeared the Islanders would be within seven points of both teams.

After a timeout by the Devils, New Jersey pulled goalie Chris Terreri.

Peter Stastny won a later faceoff deep in the Islanders’ zone and got the puck to Driver on the right point. He sent the puck across the ice to Richer, who fired it past Fitzpatrick, who made 43 saves, including eight in overtime.

Edmonton 4, Boston 3--Scott Mellanby scored on a breakaway with 54 seconds remaining as the Oilers ended a six-year regular-season slump in Boston Garden.

It was the Oilers’ first victory over the Bruins at Boston in 10 games since Jan. 13, 1986. They have won there as visitors only three times since coming into the league in 1979-80.

Adam Oates had two goals for Boston.

St. Louis 3, Montreal 3--Brendan Shanahan scored 3:15 into the final period at Montreal to help the Blues gain a tie against the Canadiens.

Shanahan got the puck in the crease and scored his 27th goal of the season for the Blues, third in the Norris Division.

Defenseman Jeff Brown had the other two goals for St. Louis.

Gilbert Dionne scored twice and Kevin Haller added a goal for Adams Division-leading Montreal, which has one victory in its last five games.

Chicago 3, Toronto 1--Jeremy Roenick assisted on two Blackhawk goals at Toronto and left the Maple Leafs six points behind Minnesota in the battle for the fourth playoff spot in the Norris Division.

Roenick’s assists on goals by Michel Goulet and Steve Larmer increased his season total to 95, one more than his previous best last season. With eight seconds to play, Goulet scored into the empty net for his second of the night.

San Jose 5, Hartford 4--Dale Craigwell scored with 74 seconds left at Hartford as the Sharks twice came from two goals behind for their third road victory.

The victory was the Sharks’ second against the Whalers and gave them the season series (2-1).

Former Whaler Dean Evason scored twice and Paul Fenton, also a former Whaler, had one. Johan Garpenlov’s power-play goal with 4:57 left tied the score.

Hartford, which has a league-low 11 home victories, appeared to be on the verge of winning back-to-back home games for the first time in 11 weeks.

Quebec 4, Minnesota 2--Owen Nolan’s 38th goal highlighted a three-goal first period at Quebec as the Nordiques ended a four-game losing streak.

The loss also stalled the North Stars in their bid to extend their fourth-place lead over Toronto in the Norris Division.

Brian Bellows scored both goals for the North Stars, including one during a double manpower advantage at 13:31 of the third period. That goal brought Minnesota within 3-2, but Jamie Baker sealed the victory about four minutes later.