NHL PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP : Flames Melt Oilers’ Home-Ice Advantage, 2-1

Theoren Fleury, the Calgary Flames’ leading scorer throughout the regular season, finally became a playoff factor Sunday night at Edmonton.

Fleury scored his first playoff goal at 4:40 of overtime to give the Flames a 2-1 victory and tie their best-of-seven series at three games apiece.

With the series returning to Calgary Tuesday night, the Flames can salvage the series after trailing, 3-1.

Only seven times in playoff history have teams that trailed, 3-1, come back to win. It could happen twice in the opening round. St. Louis, down, 3-1 to Detroit, can now win that series Tuesday in St. Louis.

The Flames had won only five times in 15 playoff games in Edmonton. They never have won a playoff in which they trailed, 2-1, in the series.

It didn’t look good for the Flames when Craig Simpson scored midway through the first period, especially the way goalie Grant Fuhr was playing.

Paul Ranheim tied the score midway through the second period. From then on it was a defensive battle with Fuhr and Calgary goalie Mike Vernon dominating.

In overtime, Mark Messier, a star of many Oiler victories, made a weak cross-ice pass, Fleury intercepted it and went in alone on Fuhr.

He beat him with a shot that slid between Fuhr’s pads.

Minnesota 3, Chicago 1--The first round of the Stanley Cup competition looked like easy pickings for the Blackhawks.

They had posted the best record in the NHL during the regular season and they were playing Minnesota, the playoff qualifier with the worst record. The Blackhawks figured to breeze into the second round.

Apparently, the Blackhawks thought they were the reincarnation of the Broad Street Bullies--the Philadelphia Flyers--that Mike Keenan used to coach.

The tactics backfired and, with Brian Bellows scoring twice and assisting on the other goal at Bloomington, Minn., the North Stars clinched the series, 4-2.

In the six games, the North Stars scored 15 power-play goals in a record 54 opportunities.

In the last three games the North Stars completely dominated. They outscored the Blackhawks, 12-2, and outshot them in the series, 222-159.

Bellows, who emerged from a mid-season slump to lead the North Stars to a strong second half, set up Neil Wilkinson’s goal midway through the first period. Only 69 seconds later, his goal made the score 2-0.

With Jon Casey playing brilliantly, that was enough. In Game 3, he was chastised by Coach Bob Gainey for giving up two easy goals. But in the last three he gave up only two goals in 69 shots.

Rookie Ed Belfour, the league’s top goalie during the regular season, was the loser in all four games.

St. Louis 3, Detroit 0--The Blues stopped fighting at Detroit and started playing hockey.

Goaltender Vincent Riendeau stopped 23 shots and the Blues evened the best-of-seven series at three apiece.

If the Blues win Tuesday night at St. Louis, they will become the eighth NHL team to win a playoff series after trailing in games, 3-1.

Dave Tomlinson, Jeff Brown and Dave Lowry scored for the Blues, who started their comeback with a 6-1 victory Friday night at St. Louis.

Until the sudden turnaround, the Red Wings, who had 29 fewer points than the Blues during the regular season, had dominated the first-round series.