Chicago Spoils Gardens’ Party

More than 67 years after the Chicago Blackhawks christened Maple Leaf Gardens with a victory over Toronto, they did the same in its farewell.

In a game in which consequence took a back seat to history and hoopla, the Blackhawks dominated to break a seven-game losing streak and defeat the Maple Leafs, 6-2, Saturday night in final NHL game in the historic arena.

The Blackhawks’ Bob Probert had the honor of scoring the final NHL goal at the Gardens.

“I got the puck and I’m going to put it on a plaque,” Probert said. “I’ll never forget this moment.”

Though the Gardens will remain a venue for minor league hockey and other events, the Maple Leafs will have a new home as of next Saturday--the 18,800-seat Air Canada Centre. The game with Chicago marked the NHL’s departure from the last of the arenas built in the 1920s and ‘30s for the league’s Original Six franchises.

In the final minute Saturday, fans shook off their disappointment and began a standing ovation.

After the game, scores of former Maple Leaf players marched one by one onto the rink for an hourlong, nationally televised ceremony bidding farewell to the Gardens. Resounding ovations greeted many of the former stars, including Hall of Famers Lanny McDonald, Borje Salming, Darryl Sittler, Frank Mahovlich and Johnny Bower.

Pittsburgh 3, Nashville 2--Kip Miller scored with 1:21 left in overtime and extended the Penguins’ winning streak to nine with a victory at Nashville.

The Penguins have won their last four games by a goal with the last three coming in overtime.

Edmonton 3, St. Louis 2--Bob Essensa stopped 31 shots and Ryan Smyth scored twice as the Oilers handed the Blues their fifth consecutive home loss.

Also, defensemen Jeff Finley and Geoff Smith were acquired by the Blues on Saturday from the New York Rangers for future considerations.

New Jersey 6, Carolina 4--Brendan Morrison and Petr Sykora scored in the second period to put the Devils ahead as they ended a five-game winless streak (0-4-1) at home, their longest since 1992.

Montreal 4, Florida 0--Saku Koivu scored two power-play goals and the Canadien defense allowed only 16 shots as Jeff Hackett earned 100th career victory and third shutout of the season at Montreal.

The Panthers were playing their fourth consecutive game without injured forward Pavel Bure.

Ottawa 2, Washington 1--Damian Rhodes made 31 saves and Radek Bonk scored the game-winner in the first minute of the second period to give the Senators a victory at Kanata, Canada. The first-place Senators are three points ahead of Toronto in the Northeast Division.

New York Islanders 2, Buffalo 2--Mariusz Czerkawski scored the tying goal early in the third and Tommy Salo made 24 saves, including two on Michael Peca on a late power play, as the Islanders fought the Sabres to a tie at Buffalo, N.Y.

San Jose 3, Tampa Bay 1--Murray Craven had his first goal in 22 games to go with two assists at Tampa, Fla., as the Sharks stayed hot with their fourth consecutive victory.

San Jose improved to 4-2 on a 10-game road trip, the longest uninterrupted trip in NHL history.

Phoenix 4, Colorado 1--Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 25 shots to earn a franchise-best 117th victory as the Coyotes defeated the Avalanche at Denver.

Khabibulin, 5-1-1 with two shutouts and a 0.99 goals-against average in his last seven starts improved to 117-99-29. in his career.

Vancouver 3, Boston 1--The Canucks got goals from Alexander Mogilny in the first, Todd Bertuzzi in the second and Dave Scatchard in the third and defeated the Bruins at Vancouver, Canada. Before the game, the Canucks learned that defenseman Ed Jovanovski, acquired last month in the Pavel Bure trade, will miss 2-3 weeks with a broken foot.