NHL ROUNDUP : Hull’s Goals the Difference as Blues Beat Sharks

Brett Hull scored his 51st and 52nd goals to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks Thursday night at Daly City.

Hull has 52 goals in 51 games and has 79 points, one behind NHL leader Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Hull scored from 10 feet out with 7:05 left in the second period to give the Blues a 3-2 lead. With 9:52 left in the game, his shot from behind the blue line went past Shark goalie Jeff Hackett to give St. Louis a two-goal advantage.

Vancouver 4, Chicago 1--Petr Nedved scored two goals and the Canucks defeated the Blackhawks at Vancouver.

Michel Goulet scored in the first period to give Chicago a 1-0 lead, but Nedved tied the score later in the period.

Doug Lidster broke the tie in the second period and Vancouver added goals by Greg Adams and Nedved in the third period.

N.Y. Islanders 8, Pittsburgh 5--Rob DiMaio and Tom Fitzgerald scored 21 seconds apart in the first period and the Islanders built a four-goal lead before holding off the Penguins at Pittsburgh.

The Penguins, who were 4-0-1 against the Islanders this season, fell into fourth place in the Patrick Division and slipped under .500 at home with their fourth consecutive loss overall and their fourth in a row at home.

Boston 3, Calgary 1--Vladimir Ruzicka and Steve Leach scored in the first period to power the Bruins past the Flames at Boston for their eighth victory in 10 games.

Boston got within eight points of Adams Division-leading Montreal.

Philadelphia 5, Minnesota 3--Garry Galley’s first goal as a Flyer broke a 3-3 tie and Mark Howe scored two goals in a victory over the North Stars at Philadelphia.