NHL ROUNDUP : Overtime Goal Lifts Canadiens

Fortune finally smiled on Donald Brashear.

His first goal of the season at 1:54 of overtime gave the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Monday night at Montreal.

The puck landed on the stick of the rookie left wing, and he shot it well wide of the net. It went into the goal off defenseman Scott Lachance’s face.

“It came right to me,” said Brashear, 23, who was sent to the minors on Jan. 20 after sleeping in and missing a team flight to Florida, only to be recalled eight days later.

“I’ve been working on shooting quicker, and I shot it as soon as I had it. I wanted to make sure I had a good shot. It went in off the defenseman. It’s destiny.”

The game went to overtime after the Canadiens wasted a lead built on first-period goals by Kirk Muller and Mark Recchi. Brashear’s goal gave Montreal a 5-0-2 home record.

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Dallas 2, Calgary 1--Goaltender Andy Moog stopped 25 shots and reached a milestone at Calgary with his 306th NHL victory.

The victory moved Moog into sole possession of eighth place in all-time goalie victories.

Moog’s bid for his first shutout of the season ended with 43 seconds to play when Robert Reichel took a pass from Theoren Fleury in the slot and beat the goalie with a shot from about 15 feet.

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New Jersey 2, Washington 0--Martin Brodeur stopped 27 shots at Landover, Md., for the fourth shutout of his career, extending his unbeaten streak to eight games.

Tom Chorske’s second goal of the season, a deflection in the first period, was all the offense the Devils needed to win for only the second time in eight road games. John MacLean added an empty-net goal late in the game after Washington pulled goaltender Olaf Kolzig for an extra skater.

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Chicago 3, San Jose 2--Tony Amonte and Christian Ruuttu scored in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and lift the Blackhawks at Chicago.

Jeff Shantz scored in the first period for the Blackhawks, who are 4-0-1 in their new home, the United Center. Chicago improved to 10-4-1 and remained tied with the Detroit Red Wings for first place in the Central Division.

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St. Louis 4, Edmonton 0--Curtis Joseph recorded the fifth shutout of his career and Craig Johnson and Brett Hull each had a goal and an assist at St. Louis as the Blues continued their home mastery over the Oilers.

The Blues have not lost to the Oilers at home since Jan. 2, 1990. The Blues have compiled a 7-0-1 home record and are 11-1-2 overall against the Oilers during that stretch. Joseph stopped 21 shots in his first shutout of the season.

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Detroit 4, Toronto 2--Dino Ciccarelli scored two goals and Ray Sheppard notched his 11th of the season for the Red Wings at Toronto.

Sheppard’s goal tied the score at 1-1 in the first period after Randy Wood had scored for Toronto. Ciccarelli’s power-play goal triggered a three-goal third period for the Red Wings that wiped out a 2-1 Toronto lead.

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New York Rangers 3, Tampa Bay 1--Steve Larmer scored twice and backup goaltender Glenn Healy had to make only 14 saves at St. Petersburg, Fla., for his second victory of the season.

The victory moved the Rangers (7-7-2) into first place in the Atlantic Division. Healy (2-1-1) has earned both of his victories against Tampa Bay, with the first coming by a 3-2 score Feb. 11. Tampa Bay was held to a season-low 15 shots.