NHL ROUNDUP : Super Mario Tries a Hat Trick on for Size

Eight may not be enough for Mario Lemieux, the NHL’s leading scorer, whose three goals extended his consecutive game goal-scoring streak to eight as the Pittsburgh Penguins remained undefeated with a 9-6 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night at Pittsburgh.

Lemieux has at least two points in every game this season and is setting the pace for the rest of the league with 27 points, 11 goals and 16 assists.

It was his 28th career hat trick and third five-point game this season. Lemieux scored with 1:32 left in the game to offset a power-play goal by Dino Ciccarelli.

Rick Tocchet scored midway through the third period and Shawn McEachern scored twice in eight seconds as the defending Stanley Cup champions improved their Patrick Division-leading record to 6-0-2.

The Penguins stretched their regular-season home unbeaten streak to 14-0-1 since Feb. 27. They are 8-0-1 at home against the Red Wings since Jan. 18. 1987, their longest such streak against any opponent.

Lemieux is one short of the Penguins’ record for goals in consecutive games. Paul Gardner had 10 goals in nine consecutive games from Jan. 23 to Feb. 6, 1982.

Left wing Kevin Stevens, who had three assists, also has at least two points in every game.

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Vancouver 4, Philadelphia 4--Pavel Bure and Tom Fergus scored late third-period goals to give the Canucks (4-2-1) a tie with the Flyers (3-4-2) at Philadelphia. Mark Recchi had scored twice in the third period to give the Flyers a two-goal lead before Bure and Fergus countered.

Recchi broke a 2-2 tie with his fourth goal of the season at 2:48 of the third. As Vancouver’s Jyrki Lumme was skating the puck out of his own end, it hit teammate Trevor Linden’s skate. Recchi picked it up and went in on a breakaway against Kay Whitmore, beating him to the left side.

Recchi added another goal 2:25 later when he deflected in a pass from Greg Paslawski in the slot.

Bure closed the gap to 4-3 at 7:39 of the third when he skated around Philadelphia defenseman Garry Galley and put the puck past a sprawling Dominic Roussel. The goal ended a three-game pointless streak for Bure, last season’s rookie of the year.

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Boston 4, Calgary 2--Boston goaltender Rejean Lemelin blocked 21 shots as the Bruins won at Calgary.

Don Sweeney, Ted Donato, Adam Oates and Glen Wesley scored for the Bruins (4-1-1). The goal was the first of the season for Oates--after a string of 10 assists, including one on the game’s opening goal by Sweeney.

Gary Roberts scored both goals for Calgary (5-3-0).

The Flames’ Michel Petit suffered a dislocated right shoulder in the first period.

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Hartford 5, Ottawa 1--The expansion Senators (1-6) lost their sixth in a row as the Whalers’ Pat Verbeek scored two goals 25 seconds apart and added an assist at Hartford.

Murray Craven also had a goal and two assists for the Whalers (3-5), and Nick Kypreos and Randy Cunneyworth each scored a goal. Two of the Whalers’ victories have been against Ottawa.

Ottawa got its goal from Jamie Baker on a power play late in the third period. The Senators have not won since opening their inaugural season with a victory over the Montreal Canadiens at the Civic Centre.

Dozens of seats were empty despite an announced capacity crowd of 10,392. Those fans in attendance saved by far their biggest reactions for the periodic announcements of the World Series score from Toronto.

The Senators gave the fans little enough to cheer about, particularly in Hartford’s three-goal second period.

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Minnesota 5, Quebec 2--Mike Modano scored twice at Minnesota and so did teammate Mike Craig as the North Stars (5-3) held Quebec (4-2-1) to 15 shots, 18 fewer than their average.

Modano’s goals came one day after signing a four-year, $6.75-million contract that makes him the highest-paid player in team history. Russ Courtnall also scored on one of Minnesota’s 40 shots.

“There’s some added pressure, no doubt about it,” Modano said. “But there’s also relief that I got the contract done. You know there are more eyes on you for the amount of dollars that was.”

North Star goalie Jon Casey made only 13 saves--five in each of the first two periods and three in the third--in improving his record to 5-1.

Ron Hextall, the former all-star goalie obtained from Philadelphia in the Eric Lindros trade, had started Quebec’s first six games.

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Toronto 5, Tampa Bay 2--Nikolai Borschevsky and Rob Pearson scored two goals apiece at Tampa Bay, leading the Maple Leafs (4-3-1) past the Lightning (3-4-1).

Toronto led, 3-1, after a first period highlighted by goalie Felix Potvin’s save on Brian Bradley’s penalty shot. It was the first penalty shot in the NHL this year.

Potvin, a rookie, recorded his second consecutive victory subbing for Grant Fuhr in goal for Toronto. Fuhr had surgery on his right knee and will miss two to three weeks.

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New Jersey 6, Chicago 5--Claude Lemieux scored three goals and added an assist at Chicago, but it took Stephane Richer’s 20-footer from the top of the right circle to lift the Devils (5-3) in overtime. Richer’s first goal of the season beat Eddie Belfour only 49 seconds into the extra period.

Dirk Graham’s second goal of the game with 39 seconds left in the third period had tied the score, 5-5, after Lemieux had put New Jersey ahead, 5-4, 1:46 into the third.