NHL ROUNDUP : Struggling Canadiens Lose Again

The struggling Montreal Canadiens continued their worst start in 57 years, losing, 2-0, to the New York Islanders in a game Friday night between two winless NHL teams at New York.

It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Canadiens, who are two losses away from tying their all-time record for most losses at the start of a season. The Canadiens, who have won more Stanley Cups than any team in the NHL, dropped their first seven at the start of the 1938-39 season.

Tommy Soderstrom turned back 26 shots for his first shutout of the season, and Dennis Vaske and Scott Lachance scored second-period goals for the Islanders.

N.Y. Rangers 3, Buffalo 1--The Rangers scored three goals in the second period and withstood Mark Messier’s ejection in the third at Buffalo.

The Rangers, who outshot Buffalo, 47-23, got goals from Adam Graves, Alexei Kovalev and Pat Verbeek. Randy Burridge scored for the rebuilding Sabres, who lost for the fourth time in five games.

Toronto 4, Calgary 3--Mike Craig’s fluke goal 1:31 into overtime gave the Maple Leafs a victory over the Flames at Toronto.

With Calgary goaltender Rick Tabaracci down and out of his crease during a scramble, Benoit Hogue shot at the vacated net. Craig took a swing at the puck, which struck his leg and bounced over the line to complete a Toronto comeback from a 3-1 deficit.

Pittsburgh 2, Hartford 2--Petr Nedved scored a power-pay goal midway through the third period to give the Penguins a tie against the previously undefeated and untied Whalers at Hartford.

Hartford did not get a shot off in overtime against Tom Barrasso, who stopped 35 shots. Hartford goalie Sean Burke, 4-0 entering the game, stopped 25 shots, including several in the final minutes of regulation.