NHL ROUNDUP : Belfour Saves First Place for Blackhawks

The Minnesota North Stars learned quickly Saturday night that sneaking into first place past the Chicago Blackhawks was going to be about as easy as sneaking a puck past goaltender Ed Belfour.

The North Stars were unsuccessful in both missions, as the Blackhawks won this early-season showdown, 3-0, at Minneapolis to increase their Norris Division lead over Minnesota to three points.

“I could tell right away (Belfour) was sharp because he wasn’t giving up any rebounds,” said Blackhawk Coach Darryl Sutter after Belfour made 30 saves. “We could all tell he was very mentally sharp.”

Brent Sutter, Bryan Marchment and Steve Larmer scored for the Blackhawks, who won their fourth consecutive game.

Ottawa 1, Calgary 1--The Senators shut down the Flames’ power play while receiving a power-play goal from Sylvain Turgeon at Ottawa to earn only their ninth point of the season.

Calgary failed to score on nine power-play chances, and Ottawa converted one of six opportunities.

The expansion Senators, last in the Adams Division, still have the worst record in the NHL at 3-26-3. Calgary remained second in the Smythe behind the Kings.

The Senators were thrilled.

“Our good performances far outweigh our clunkers--and despite our record we’re riding high on our effort,” defenseman Brad Marsh said.

Hartford 1, Buffalo 1--Goalies Sean Burke and Dominik Hasek picked the same night to have superb games as the Whalers and Sabres skated to an overtime tie at Hartford.

Adam Burt scored his second goal of the season to give the Whalers the first-period lead. Ken Sutton scored his first goal of the season to tie the score in the third period.

Montreal 5, Boston 1--Brian Skrudland scored his first two goals of the season as the first-place Canadiens moved four points ahead of second-place Boston in the Adams Division.

Skrudland missed 27 games after tearing knee ligaments in the opening game of the season at Hartford on Oct. 6 and scored his first goals since last March.

Washington 5, Philadelphia 2--Pat Elynuik had a goal and an assist at Philadelphia as the Capitals won their seventh consecutive game. The Flyers lost their fourth consecutive game.

Washington took control of the game in the first period when it built a 3-0 lead. Michal Pivonka, Elynuik and Peter Bondra scored during the outburst.

Tampa Bay 3, Edmonton 1--Brian Bradley scored his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season as the Lightning ended a six-game losing streak at Tampa. The Lightning, which also got a goal from Bob Beers, had not won since a 3-2 victory at Toronto on Nov. 24 and had lost 11 of its last 12.

Pittsburgh 6, New Jersey 5--Troy Loney broke a third-period tie with a disputed goal and Kevin Stevens had his second three-goal game of the season for the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins, with the most points in the NHL, improved their home record to an NHL-best 12-1-2. Loney had two goals but the second, 8:09 into the final period, had to be upheld by replay official Dale Ruth.

Winnipeg 4, NY Islanders 3--Russ Romaniuk’s goal 1:41 into overtime gave the Jets a victory at Uniondale, N.Y.

New York tied the game with 45 seconds left in regulation on a shorthanded goal by Scott Lachance. But the Jets ended a four-game winless streak and got their first victory at the Nassau Coliseum since Nov. 21, 1989 when Romaniuk, left alone in the slot, took Mike Eagles’ pass from the end boards to the right of the net and flipped the puck past Glenn Healy.

Quebec 8, San Jose 7--Scott Young scored his 15th goal at 4:10 of the overtime period to save the Nordiques from embarrassment at San Jose. With 1:51 remaining in regulation, Mike Sullivan tied the game for the last-place Sharks with his fourth goal of the season. It capped a five-goal period for the Sharks, who trailed, 6-2, after two periods. Rob Gaudreau scored two of the five goals for San Jose, his second and third goals of the game. Pat Falloon and Dean Evanson also scored in the rally.