NHL Roundup : Flyers Beat Leafs for Sixth Straight Win

Brian Propp, Murray Craven and Dave Poulin scored in slightly more than two minutes of the second period Thursday night at Philadelphia to lead the Flyers to their sixth victory in a row, 4-1, over Toronto.

A first-period goal by Greg Terrion gave the Maple Leafs the early lead, but Propp tied it at 7:24 of the second period with his 32nd goal of the season. Craven broke the tie at 9:11, and just 24 seconds later, Poulin gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead. Derrick Smith added a goal at 14:41 of the third period.

Goaltender Pelle Lindbergh got his league-high 27th victory. He had a rather easy night, facing only 16 shots.

Lindbergh, who has worked in 48 of the Flyers’ 58 games this season, is a major reason the Flyers are challenging Washington for first place in the tough Patrick Division.

Three years ago, the Flyers were so high on Lindbergh, a Swedish Olympic star, that they traded away Pete Peeters, an outstanding goaltender. For two seasons, Lindbergh, often injured, was mostly a disappointment. Now, at 25, he has started living up to expectations.

“I like the chance to play this much,” Lindbergh said. “I only played 36 games last season, and I hated it on the bench. Playing so much gives me a chance to keep my confidence up, even through the bad times.”

Hartford 4, New York Rangers 3--Greg Malone scored with 13 seconds remaining in regulation at New York to get the Whalers even, and Sylvain Cote won it with a goal at 3:45 of overtime.

The Rangers had a 3-1 lead until Sylvain Turgeon, on a 2-on-1 break, beat goaltender Glen Hanlon with 2:36 remaining in the third period. From then on, the Whalers dominated play.

Washington 6, Vancouver 2--Mike Gartner scored a hat trick to power the Capitals to the win at Vancouver. Gartner, who scored once in each period, has 38 goals and 79 points this season. The loss snapped the Canucks’ three-game winning streak.

Winnipeg 3, New York Islanders 2--Doug Smail and Brian Mullen scored in the first 93 seconds of the second period at Uniondale, N.Y., to help the Jets build a 3-0 lead, and they held on for their 14th road win this season. The Jets only won 14 road games last season.