NHL Roundup : Whalers Set a Record of Sorts With a 5-4 Victory Over Penguins

After outlasting Pittsburgh, 5-4, Saturday night at Hartford, the Whalers had something to celebrate. For the first time in seven seasons in the National Hockey League, the Whalers, after 27 games, are above .500.

During that time, the Whalers, who made the playoffs only in their first season, 1979-80, were never above .500 after as late as 15 games.

Sylvain Turgeon, blossoming into a star at 20, had his seventh two-goal game of the season to lead the Whalers to their second win in a row, a 14-13-0 record and fourth place in the tough Adams Division.

Turgeon’s second goal and 17th of the season gave the Whalers a 5-3 lead with just 4:11 left, and Mike Bullard’s 13th goal, with 1:27 left, merely made it close for the Penguins. The Whalers dominated throughout, outshooting the Penguins, 43-27.

Turgeon, in his third NHL season, is at left wing on the Whalers’ hot, young line. Ron Francis, the center, and Kevin Dineen, the right wing, are both 22.

They have been playing as a unit for only eight games, but they have already shown the chemistry of which great lines are made.

“We are counting heavily on that line,� Coach Jack Evans said. “It’s our best one and very exciting to watch.

“We are a young team in a tough division, but I think we are proving that we can compete.�

Boston 4, New York Rangers 2--Injuries and finally arm surgery in January, limited Barry Pederson’s 1984-85 season to only 22 games. Physically, the high-scoring Bruin center recovered rapidly. Mentally, it took a little longer.

At last, Pederson believes he is ready to provide the scoring punch his club needs. In his three previous NHL seasons, Pederson had 129 goals in 237 games.

His two goals in this game at Boston led the Bruins to victory, but gave him only 12 in 30 games this season.

“I have felt good physically for a long time, but finally, my head is finally in the game,� Pederson said. “I finally feel ready to make a big contribution.�

Philadelphia 6, Detroit 4--After a mild slump, during which they lost three games in a row, the Flyers are flying once again.

In a tough battle at Detroit, the Flyers won their third in a row. Dave Poulin scored his 12th goal of the season with 2:01 remaining to break a 4-4 tie to climax a spirited rally.

Steve Yzerman and John Ogrodnick scored goals less than four minutes apart late in the second period to give the Red Wings a 4-2 lead. But they never scored again and the Wings lost their fourth in a row.

Quebec 9, New Jersey 3--The hottest team in the league is the Nordiques. In this game at Quebec, Michel Goulet scored four goals and the Nordiques retained their lead in the Adams Division and extended their unbeaten string to eight games.

Goulet’s fourth goal of the game and his third on a power play, gave the Nordiques a 6-1 lead early in the final period. Goulet has 22 goals this season.

Peter Stastny was also prominent in the Quebec offense, getting a goal and four assists.

Vancouver 4, Calgary 3--Thomas Gradin made a spectacular rush down the ice in the third period at Vancouver to score the goal that ended the Canucks’ 10-game winless string.

Gradin finished his rush by putting a backhander past goalie Mar D’Amour at 13:14 to break a 3-3 tie.

The Canucks had lost six in a row and had not won since they beat Detroit Nov. 19. They were 0-9-1 during the skid.

Montreal 6, Chicago 3--Mats Naslund scored two of the Canadiens’ three power-play goals at Montreal to send the Black Hawks down to their fifth defeat in a row.

Naslund’s second goal of the game and 23rd of the season was a deflection of a shot by Larry Robinson early in the second period to give Montreal a 5-2 lead.

Montreal rookie Stephane Richer, who missed 10 games with an ankle injury, returned and scored his 10th goal.

Toronto 6, Minnesota 6--Miroslav Frycer scored with just 43 seconds remaining in regulation at Bloomington, Minn. to give the Maple Leafs a tie.

In the five-minute overtime, the Leafs, who trailed, 6-4, after 8:35 of the final period, had five shots on goal but failed to break the tie.

St. Louis 2, New York Islanders 2--Brent Sutter scored early in the third period at Uniondale, N.Y. to lift the Islanders into a tie with the Blues. Just 13 seconds into the final period, Brent’s brother Brian scored to give the Blues a 2-1 lead.

For the third game in a row, Islander defenseman Denis Potvin, who needs a point to become the all-time leader for defensemen, was scoreless.