NHL ROUNDUP : Oates Powers Bruins Past Islanders, 7-3

Adam Oates scored two goals and assisted on three others Thursday night as the Boston Bruins beat the penalty-plagued New York Islanders, 7-3, at Boston.

The Bruins took a 3-0 lead in the first eight minutes. Two of the goals came on power plays as the Islanders twice found themselves with three players in the box, two serving penalties and a third awaiting his turn.

Oates gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead with his 11th goal of the season at 3:27, with Joe Juneau drawing his 100th career assist on the play.

New York’s Derek King drew a hooking penalty at 4:25 and Benoit Hogue and Steve Thomas were sentenced simultaneously at 5:21 for tripping and high-sticking. Juneau scored seven seconds later on the power play.

Hogue returned to the ice after the goal, but Dennis Vaske was sent off for slashing at 6:15 and Ray Bourque scored for the Bruins at 7:16.

Florida 2, Buffalo 1-- Jesse Belanger slipped a rebound shot between goaltender Dominik Hasek’s legs 23 seconds into overtime at Miami.

Hasek had posted shutouts in the Sabres’ last two games, beating Toronto on Monday night and Tampa Bay on Wednesday, both by 3-0 scores.

Gord Murphy had the other goal for the Panthers, who broke a three-game losing streak. Donald Audette scored for the Sabres, who lost for the first time in five games.

Pittsburgh 2, New Jersey 2--Jaromir Jagr scored late in the second period at Pittsburgh and the Penguins extended their unbeaten streak to seven games with their third straight tie.

The Penguins are one short of the team record set in 1979 for consecutive ties. Pittsburgh has a season-best 3-0-4 streak, the NHL’s longest current string without a loss.

Toronto 5, St. Louis 4--The Maple Leafs, the NHL’s best road team, got goals from low-scoring defensemen Bob Rouse and Jamie Macoun in a 31-second span late in the game at St. Louis.

Rouse tied it with his third goal with 2:42 left on a drive from 30 feet and Macoun scored his first for the winner at 2:11 on a shot that somehow trickled past goalie Curtis Joseph right after the Maple Leafs had won a faceoff.

The Central Division-leading Maple Leafs twice overcame a two-goal deficit to raise their road record to 10-3-3. That’s nearly as good as their 9-2-1 record at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Toronto also completed a two-night, home-and-home sweep of the Blues. The Maple Leafs outshot St. Louis, 53-29, in a 4-2 victory at Toronto Wednesday.

Philadelphia 6, Vancouver 3--The Flyers’ Viacheslav Butsayev notched the first hat trick of his career, at Vancouver.

Mark Recchi added two goals for the Flyers and Kevin Dineen had the other.

Dan Kesa, Geoff Courtnall and Greg Adams scored for the Canucks.