NHL Roundup : Shootout Is Won by Oilers, 8-5

The Edmonton Oilers, smarting from Tuesday night’s shutout at Minnesota, turned on the offense Wednesday night at Winnipeg and left the defense to goaltender Grant Fuhr.

Although Fuhr may be suffering from shell shock, the Oilers managed to end the Jets’ three-game winning streak with an 8-5 victory.

The Jets, losing for the first time since General Manager John Ferguson replaced Barry Long as coach, didn’t lack for opportunities. They fired 54 shots at Fuhr. In both the first and third periods they fired shots at the rate of one per minute.

In both of those periods, Fuhr made 18 stops.

Even the Oilers’ checking line of Craig MacTavish, Mike Krushelnyski and Mark Napier forgot to play defense. The three totaled 10 points to lead the attack.

Tuesday night at Bloomington, Minn., when hot goalie Don Beaupre handed the two-time Stanley Cup champions their second shutout, it marked only the third time all season that Wayne Gretzky was shut out.

Gretzky had two assists to extend his own record for a season to 141, but his linemate, Jari Kurri, had two goals to reach 57 for the season. With only 48, it seems certain that Gretzky’s unselfishness will prevent him from leading in goal-scoring. He has assisted on a majority of Kurri’s league-leading total.

In the wild offensive battle, there were two goals for each team in the first four minutes of the third period.

Boston 5, Pittsburgh 2--The Bruins, in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in nearly two decades, rode the play of Charlie Simmer to a much-needed victory at Pittsburgh.

Simmer scored twice in the first period and the Bruins went on to end a three-game losing streak. The Bruins are five points ahead of Hartford in the battle for the last playoff spot in the Adams Division.

“It was an absolute must,” Coach Butch Goring said. “At this stage it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we have to win. We’re in a dogfight and we need all the points we can get.”

The Penguins, struggling to stay ahead of the New York Rangers in the Patrick Division, lost their fifth in a row.

Buffalo 7, Chicago 6--Gil Perreault assisted on four goals at Chicago, including the two in the third period that enabled the Sabres to hold off a determined Blackhawk rally.

The Blackhawks had a hat trick from Steve Larmer, but his final goal left the Blackhawks still one goal short with just one minute remaining. They didn’t get another shot on goal.

Montreal 3, Vancouver 2--Rookie Stephane Richer scored his 16th goal of the season with four minutes left at Montreal to give the Canadiens the victory.

The Canucks, who have not won on the road since they beat the Kings Dec. 21, held a 2-1 lead until defenseman Larry Robinson scored his 18th to tie the score at 9:10 of the third period.

Calgary 3, New York Rangers 2--Dan Quinn scored one goal and set up the other two at New York as the Flames prevented the Rangers of passing Pittsburgh and taking over fourth place in the Patrick Division.

The Rangers played without top defenseman Barry Beck after he suffered a shoulder injury in the second period.