It’s a Loud, Long Night for Gretzky in St. Louis

It wasn’t as if he spent a career there. It was only half a season.

And it wasn’t as though he was a scoring threat. Wayne Gretzky went another game without a goal--his 18th in a row and longest drought of his career.

But St. Louis fans added some serious insults for Gretzky, welcomed rudely back to what was, briefly, his home by fans who idolized him only a few months ago.

Brett Hull got his 33rd goal in the Blues’ 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers and Gretzky on Thursday night.

The Blues, 9-5-2 under new Coach Joel Quenneville, got a short-handed goal from Scott Pellerin and Craig Conroy had two assists.

And Gretzky was booed.

“I thought it was insulting to Wayne,” Ranger Coach Colin Campbell said. “You never expect that for the greatest player in the game.”

Gretzky said the ornery reception didn’t bother him.

“Any time you leave a city, it’s not going to be a parade,” Gretzky said. “It’s just part of the game, part of the business. Life goes on.”

He did say, however, that he wouldn’t have booed.

“It’s like you pay $65, you’re free to do what you want to do,” he said. “If you want to spend the night booing, that’s up to you.

“I think I’d probably do neither if I was paying to go to a game, but that’s just how I am.”

Chicago 7, San Jose 3--Former Sharks Michal Sykora and Ulf Dahlen each had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who also got two scores from Gary Suter in a victory at Chicago.

Goalie Chris Terreri, also a former Shark, had 22 saves as all three former San Jose players stood out in their first home game against their old team since they were traded Jan. 25 for goalie Ed Belfour.

Chicago is 5-2 since the deal, San Jose 3-6-1.

Belfour didn’t play, having sat out six games in a row because of a sore knee.

New Jersey 4, Hartford 0--Brian Rolston scored twice and Martin Brodeur had 20 saves for the Devils, who stretched their unbeaten streak to nine games (5-0-4) with a victory at East Rutherford, N.J.

The shutout was Brodeur’s fifth of the season and 17th of his career, and it stretched his unbeaten streak to 7-0-3.

Philadelphia 4, Ottawa 2--John LeClair set up third-period Flyers’ goals by Mikael Renberg and Joel Otto in a victory at Philadelphia.

LeClair helped break a 2-2 tie when he split two defensemen, skating deep into the Senators’ zone and making the pass to Renberg.

About two minutes later, LeClair again held the puck deep in the Senators’ zone while his linemates went off for a line change. He paused until Otto came flying off the bench and fed him in the slot for his 10th goal.

Colorado 3, Phoenix 2--Sandis Ozolinsh, the NHL’s goal leader among defensemen, scored twice in the second period to give the Avalanche a victory at Phoenix.

The Coyotes got two goals from Keith Tkachuk.

Calgary 3, Edmonton 2--Robert Reichel scored a power-play goal 2:20 into overtime for the Flames in a victory at Calgary that gave them their first four-game winning streak of the season.

Edmonton winger Andrei Kovalenko was called for tripping Reichel in the Oiler zone 52 seconds into overtime, setting up a Calgary power play. From the slot, Reichel stopped Tommy Albelin’s pass and blasted a waist-high slap shot through traffic and past goaltender Bob Essensa for his 12th goal.