NHL ROUNDUP : Penguins Burn Out the Lights

After all the million-dollar players are paid, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ greatest expense might be buying new bulbs for the goal lights at the Civic Arena.

Mario Lemieux had a goal and four assists, and Jaromir Jagr got two goals and two assists as the Penguins overcame a slow start to beat the Hartford Whalers, 9-4, Thursday night at Pittsburgh.

The Penguins lead the NHL with 175 goals in 35 games. They’ve had six or more 14 times.

“Once we get a couple, the guys get into it and we seem to play much better after that,” Lemieux said.

The Penguins broke open a 2-2 game with four second-period goals as they recorded the franchise’s 900th victory. The Penguins are 14-3 at home this season. The Whalers are winless in their last six games.

Tampa Bay 3, Montreal 1--J.C. Bergeron replaced goalie Jeff Reese midway through the first period and recorded 26 saves in the victory over the Canadiens before 26,415 at Tampa Bay, the third-largest in league history.

Bergeron replaced Reese at 10:50 of the opening period after Reese sprained his right knee while sweeping aside Mark Recchi’s shot from the goalmouth. A former Canadien, Bergeron was tested immediately, turning aside shots from Pierre Turgeon and Andrei Kovalenko.

He came up big throughout, allowing only Saku Koivu’s goal at 15:21 of the third period.

The key Eastern Conference victory gave the Lightning a 6-0-1 home advantage against Montreal in Tampa Bay’s four-year history.

Chicago 4, Winnipeg 3--Murray Craven scored the Blackhawks’ second short-handed goal of the game with 8:27 remaining to snap a 3-3 tie and lift Chicago to its third consecutive victory.

Gary Suter, who set up Craven’s game-winner, notched short-handed and even-strength goals and now leads NHL defensemen in goal-scoring with 14. Jeremy Roenick also connected for the Hawks, who extended their unbeaten streak to six games (5-0-1). Starting in goal for the fifth time in the Hawks’ last six games, Jeff Hackett stretched his personal unbeaten streak to eight games (7-0-1) by stopping 22 of 25 Jets’ shots.

St. Louis 4, Dallas 1--At St. Louis, right wing Brett Hull’s two goals and an assist helped the Blues snap a three-game losing streak. Chris Pronger and Adam Creighton also scored for St. Louis, while Shayne Corson and Al MacInnis each had two assists. Goaltender Grant Fuhr, starting his 37th consecutive game, held the Stars to one goal on 27 shots.

Washington 5, Florida 4--Pat Peake’s goal with 3:34 remaining capped a three-goal third-period rally at Florida. The Panthers allowed three goals in a five-minute span to squander a 4-2 lead. The loss snapped their three-game winning streak, costing them a chance to take sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.

N.Y. Rangers 3, Vancouver 2--The Rangers moved into first place in the overall NHL standings when they edged the Canucks on Wayne Presley’s goal at Vancouver. The Rangers have 54 points, two more than Florida and Detroit.

* NHL Notes

With the end of the NHL’s holiday moratorium on trades, there was a flurry of deals. The St. Louis Blues continued to add members of the 1994 Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers, acquiring left winger Stephane Matteau for center Ian Laperriere. Matteau joins Brian Noonan, Jay Wells and Greg Gilbert, who were all part of the 1994 Ranger team. Mike Keenan, the Blues’ general manager, was formerly with the Rangers. The Winnipeg Jets got some power-play help, picking up defenseman Norm Maciver from the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenseman Neil Wilkinson. . . . The Hartford Whalers reacquired Kevin Dineen from the Philadelphia Flyers for future considerations. . . . The Buffalo Sabres signed goaltender John Blue for the remainder of the season and recalled forward Jason Dawe from their American Hockey League affiliate. Blue had been playing the International Hockey League this season. . . . Scott Bowman of Detroit and Doug MacLean of Florida will be the coaches in the NHL All-Star game Jan. 20 in Boston.