NHL ROUNDUP : Blues’ Joseph Stops 37 Shots in Victory Over Blackhawks

Goaltender Curtis Joseph confounded another team Tuesday night, making 37 saves in helping the St. Louis Blues to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at St. Louis.

The Blues were outshot, 39-18, but had the trump card in Joseph, who doesn’t seem to be bothered by high-volume nights. Last season, he faced 2,202 shots, more than any goaltender since the NHL started keeping that statistic in 1982-83, and his shots-per-game average of 34 is above last year’s figure of 32.4.

At the start, it looked as if the shot count would be way above his average. The Blackhawks had a 16-7 advantage in shots in the first period, yet trailed, 2-0, because of Joseph. The shot count was the same in the second period, and the Blues somehow maintained a 3-1 lead. St. Louis held the Blackhawks to seven shots in the third.

Rick Zombo, Ron Sutter and Jeff Brown scored for the Blues, who have won two consecutive games after an 0-4-2 slump.

Hartford 6, Washington 1--Pat Verbeek had three goals and Sean Burke enjoyed a successful return to the goal at Landover, Md.

Verbeek scored twice and Geoff Sanderson added his 18th goal in the first period to help Hartford take a 3-0 lead. That proved to be more than enough offense for Burke, who stopped 30 shots in his first start since Oct. 27.

Calgary 4, Quebec 4--Gary Roberts scored his second goal of the game, and fifth in two games, with 2:12 to play in regulation, giving the Flames a tie at Quebec.

N.Y. Islanders 4, Edmonton 4--Steve Thomas’ second goal of the game capped a second-period rally as the Islanders rallied from a two-goal deficit at Uniondale, N.Y.

Tampa Bay 3, San Jose 1--Denis Savard, Adam Creighton and Brian Bradley scored for the Lightning in the first period at San Jose.