NHL ROUNDUP : Propp’s Two Goals Lift North Stars

Brian Propp scored two goals, his first since Oct. 13, and Jon Casey made 31 saves as the Minnesota North Stars defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1, Tuesday night at Bloomington, Minn.

The victory was only the second in 11 games (2-8-1) for the North Stars, who moved within one point of St. Louis for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Norris Division.

Propp’s second goal was a centering pass that deflected into the net off the skate of Buffalo’s Yuri Khmylev to break a 1-1 tie at 12:23 of the third period. Mike McPhee added a goal at 19:24 of the third period.

San Jose 5, Edmonton 2--Jeff Odgers scored a goal and assisted on three others as the Sharks broke a 13-game losing streak with a victory at Daly City, Calif.

Odgers has only 12 goals and 13 assists for the season, but has three goals and five assists in San Jose’s last three games. He has been directly involved in the last seven Shark goals and in eight of the last nine.

San Jose was outshot, 38-22, but goalie Arturs Irbe kept the Sharks ahead.

Boston 7, Quebec 1--Cam Neely had two goals and an assist at Quebec as the Bruins moved into first place in the Adams Division.

Neely has eight goals in 11 games since returning Feb. 25 from a knee injury that had sidelined him since the start of the season.

Bryan Smolinski and Adam Oates each had three assists for Boston.

New York 3, Washington 2--Pierre Turgeon had two goals and Glenn Healy stopped 35 shots at Landover, Md., as the Islanders edged closer to gaining a spot in the playoffs.

Dale Hunter and Calle Johansson scored for the Capitals, who are 3-12-1 against Patrick Division foes since New Year’s Day. All three victories were on the road against the Islanders.

St. Louis 2, Tampa Bay 2--Kevin Miller scored a third-period goal and Curtis Joseph made 40 saves as the Blues preserved the tie at Tampa.

Rookie defenseman Roman Hamrlik gave the Lightning a brief 2-1 third-period lead with his fifth goal of the season, but Miller scooped up a rebound and beat Bergeron to send the game into overtime.

Philadelphia 4, Winnipeg 2--Brent Fedyk scored the winner at 16:46 of the third period as the Flyers won at Winnipeg.

Fedyk took a pass from behind the net and slapped a shot past Winnipeg goalie Bob Essensa to give the Flyers their third consecutive victory.

Shawn Cronin, Eric Lindros and Pelle Eklund also scored for Philadelphia.