NHL ROUNDUP : Mogilny, Sabres Make Presence Felt

Some nights he’s a no-show. Wednesday night, though, it was showtime for Alexander Mogilny.

Mogilny recorded the fourth hat trick of his career as the Buffalo Sabres earned a much-needed 5-2 victory over the Boston Bruins at Buffalo.

“Mogilny stood on his ear,” Bruin Coach Brian Sutter said. “He put on a show, no doubt.”

The Sabres wish they could get more such nights out of Mogilny, a talented winger who defected from the former Soviet Union three years ago. There are games where he shows 50-goal potential and others where his presence goes unnoticed.

“The proof in the pudding is when you can do it over time,” said Buffalo Coach John Muckler. “Tonight, he was a hungry player.”

Mogilny scored the only goal in the first period by losing Bruin defenseman Gord Roberts at the blue line with a head-and-shoulders fake, moving in unchecked on goalie Andy Moog and then sliding the puck through Moog’s legs. Mogilny’s second goal was a close play after a pass deflected off the glove of Bruin defenseman Ray Bourque. Mogilny took the tipped pass and again faked Moog to the ice before slipping the puck through his legs.

Said Muckler: “Buffalo fans are not the most excitable fans in the world. They were excited when they saw Alex on the ice. You can’t blame them. That was poetry in motion.”

Mogilny said the Sabres were anxious to relieve some of the pressure of going 2-8-3 in their previous 13 games. Both victories came against the NHL’s worst team, the expansion Ottawa Senators.

“Everybody was tense and desperate for a win tonight,” he said. “Lately, we have been under so much pressure. It’s tough to play with everybody on your back.”

N.Y. Rangers 6, Tampa Bay 5--Steven King scored on a rebound with 2:25 left and the Rangers edged the Lightning in the first regular-season NHL game at Miami.

The game, one of 24 that NHL teams will play at neutral sites this season, drew a crowd of 12,842 in 15,000-seat Miami Arena. Miami lost the 1990 expansion race to Tampa Bay and Ottawa but should be a strong contender if the NHL decides to add more teams.

King scored after a shot from the wing by Alexei Kovalev deflected off goalie Pat Jablonski. New York held off a Tampa Bay power play in the final 1:10.

The loss was the 10th in the last 11 games for the Lightning, ruining their fast start.

Toronto 5, Detroit 3--On a night when specialty teams dominated, the Maple Leafs’ power play was more efficient than Detroit’s penalty-killing team as Toronto scored a season-high five power-play goals. Mike Foligno had two goals and John Cullen, Dmitri Mironov and Doug Gilmour also connected to help Toronto to its first victory in five games. Mironov also had three assists, Gilmour had two.

Steve Yzerman had a power-play goal for the Red Wings, who have won only once in their last seven games. The game marked Bob Probert’s first visit to an ice surface on Canadian soil in almost four years. Until last Friday, when he received permission from U.S. immigration authorities to re-enter the United States, he had been unable to cross the border since a March 1989 arrest on drug possession charges.

Probert did little on offense, but his presence was felt, especially early in third period when he and Maple Leaf captain Wendel Clark squared off. Probert lost the fight, and the next time Probert and Clark were out on the same shift, Probert tried to goad his opponent into another exchange, but Clark declined and Probert wound up with a roughing penalty.

With 43 seconds left in the game, Probert and Clark fought for a second time, with no clear winner.

Hartford 6, Ottawa 2--After struggling early this season, the Whalers are finding a cushion in the lowly Senators. Mark Janssens and Jamie Leach scored in the second period as the Whalers took control at Hartford. Half of the Whalers’ eight victories and two of their four home wins have been against Ottawa, which is still winless on the road at 0-14-0.

Nick Kypreos, Zarley Zalapski, Patrick Poulin and Terry Yake added third-period scores for Hartford. Mark Freer scored both Ottawa goals.

Washington 6, New Jersey 2--Again, the Capitals’ offense came from the defense. Kevin Hatcher, Paul Cavallini and Sylvain Cote scored goals to lead Washington to its fifth consecutive victory and eighth in their last 10 games. Defensemen have scored 12 of the Capitals’ 29 goals during the streak.

Although he did not score a goal, defenseman Al Iafrate had three assists. The Washington defenseman now has an eight-game scoring streak during which he has seven goals and 13 assists.

Vancouver 8, San Jose 3--Tom Pederson scored two goals for the Sharks in the first 9:25, then the Canucks responded with five consecutive goals for the victory at Vancouver. The Canucks moved past the Calgary Flames into second place in the Smythe Division, five points behind the first-place Kings. The Sharks, a former expansion team that is still playing like one, have just five victories in 28 games, the second-worst record in the NHL.

Eight different players scored goals for the Canucks, who were led by Trevor Linden and Cliff Ronning with one goal and three assists each. Pavel Bure added his 25th goal.