NHL Roundup : Even on a Bad Night, Flyers Have Enough to Beat Islanders, 6-5

Maybe it won’t be true when playoff time arrives, but right now, the Philadelphia Flyers are clearly the best team in the National Hockey League.

The Flyers overcame several problems Saturday night at Uniondale, N.Y., and managed to beat the New York Islanders, 6-5, on Rick Tocchet’s goal with just 32 seconds remaining.

The Flyers, in improving their league-best record to 17-4-2, won despite an off night by rookie goaltender Ron Hextall. Hextall, who went into the game with a goals-against average of 2.17, was shelled for five goals but improved his record to 14-3-2.

The Flyers also had to overcome another strong performance by Mike Bossy, who scored the 38th hat trick of his career. The veteran right wing has 11 goals in his last 8 games and has 18 goals this season, despite missing 5 games.

Bossy’s third goal, which came midway through the last period, gave the Islanders a 4-4 tie. Shortly thereafter, Tocchet put the Flyers ahead, only to have Alan Kerr get the Islanders even again at with his first goal of the season at 14:14.

When it appeared the teams were destined for overtime, Tocchet took a pass from defenseman Doug Crossman and fired a 25-footer through goalie Billy Smith’s legs.

Tim Kerr scored twice for the Flyers to reach the 20-goal plateau.

Quebec 4, Washington 3--Getting rid of Bobby Carpenter hasn’t been the answer to the Capitals’ slump. In this game at Quebec, the Nordiques withstood a furious rally to extend the Capitals’ winless streak to 10 games.

Washington is 0-2 since management decided to trade away Carpenter, a center who was considered one of the league’s outstanding players just two years ago.

It has been rumored that the Nordiques, with injured center Peter Stastny, were interested in Carpenter.

Michel Goulet scored twice to help Quebec build a 4-0 lead midway through the second period. The Capitals pulled to within a goal with 17 minutes left but could not get a tie.

Winnipeg 6, Vancouver 3--The surprising Jets scored four goals, two by Lauri Boschman, in the third period at Vancouver to take over sole possession of first place in the Smythe Division.

Rookie Fredrik Olausson scored at 1:30 of the third period to tie the game at 3-3. Just 21 seconds later, Boschman blasted a shot that caromed off goaltender Richard Brodeur’s arm into the net.

The 15-8-1 record gives the Jets a two-point lead over Edmonton and the second-best overall record in the league.

Boston 6, Buffalo 2--Doug Keans came within 20 seconds of a shutout at Boston.

Before the last two Sabre shots eluded him, Keans stopped 35 shots, several of them difficult ones.

Keith Crowder scored twice for the Bruins.

Hartford 7, Montreal 5--The Whalers have felt they couldn’t consider themselves contenders in the Adams Division until they beat the Stanley Cup champion Canadiens.

In this game at Montreal, the Whalers scored four goals in a 6 1/2-minute span in the third period and became a contender.

Kevin Dineen scored two of the goals after the Canadiens built a 5-3 lead through two periods.

Minnesota 7, Toronto 2--Don Beaupre stopped 42 shots at Toronto to beat the Maple Leafs twice in 24 hours. He was also in the nets Friday night at Bloomington, Minn., when the North Stars won, 6-3.

Brian Bellows scored two of the Stars’ four third-period goals that broke open the game.

Calgary 5, Chicago 4--John Tonelli and rookie Dale DeGray scored goals early in the third period at Calgary to rally the Flames to victory.

Pittsburgh 5, New York 5--Craig Simpson scored with just two seconds left in regulation at New York to give the Penguins a tie and mar Tom Webster’s debut as coach of the Rangers.

Detroit 4, St. Louis 2--Gerard Gallant and Darren Veitch scored two minutes apart in the second period at St. Louis to end the Red Wings’ three-game winless streak.

It was a split of the two-game set, and both teams won on the road. The Blues had to go overtime to win Friday night at Detroit.