Week 5 - Rangers at Bruins

This weeks' feature matchup pits the New York Rangers (2-1-1) at the Boston Bruins (2-2-0). The Bruins are coming off a stunning defeat in Colorado, while the Rangers are feeling strong following a 5-1 drubbing at the North Stars. Many experts were calling for a Bruins-North Stars final prior to the season, so a road sweep of the two would be an impressive feat by the Broadway' Blueshirts.

Out of Town Scoreboard:

NY Islanders 3 at Buffalo 4 - Despite icing their weakest possible lineup the Islanders jumped out to a 3-0 1st period lead at the Aud. Undaunted - and still undefeated - the Sabres shut down NYI the rest of the way, with Gilbert Perrault's marker midway through the 3rd capping the Sabres 4-goal rally.

Washington 8 at Cleveland 1 - Mike Gartner netted a 1st period hat-trick, and the Dennis Maruk'less Barons had no answer. Cleveland's inability to bodycheck was exposed by the Patrick Division leading Capitals.

Kehoe lifts surprising' Pens

Pittsburgh 3 at Hartford 2 - Rick Kehoe provided all the Penguins offence as the Whalers fell to 0-3 at home on the season. Denis Herron robbed Blaine Stoughton in the final seconds to preserve the surprising Penguins 4th win of the season.

Philadelphia 3 at Montreal 6 - Larry Robinson scored 3, and body checked about 30, as the Habs dominated the Flyers, holding a 5-0 lead after the 2nd. The Flyers' Paul Guay & Lindsay Carson and the Canadiens' John Chabot & Guy Charbonneau all shed some blood on the Forum ice in this hard-hitting affair.

New Jersey 5 at Quebec 5  - A see-saw game as Anton Stastny and Mel Bridgman traded markers twice in the late stages of the 3rd. No team had more than a 1-goal lead the entire game.

Chicago 4 at Winnipeg 7 - The high-powered Jets took a 2-0 lead in the 1st, but found themselves behind after the 2nd as Steve Larmer netted a 2nd period hat trick for the winless Hawks. Dave Babych, Thomas Steen and Dale Hawerchuk though would reinforce their dominance in the 3rd, as the Jets scored 4 in the frame to dump 0-5 Chicago.

Minnesota 5 at Calgary 2  - Coming off three straight one-goal defeats, the Flames found themselves down 3-2 for a long stretch in this one, before Dino Ciccarelli broke it open with two goals late in the 3rd. The line of Ciccarelli-Broten-Acton was too much for winless Calgary.

St. Louis 8 at Colorado 2  - The Blues jumped on the Rockies early and often; actually winning the attack zone battle in the 1st - a rare feat for the visiting CPU. Two 3rd period Wilf Paiement goals did little to secure any dignity for the Rockies. How did they beat Boston?

Atlanta 3 at Edmonton 5 - The Firebirds blew a 2-0 lead and a golden opportunity for their 1st win of the

Three rounds of Plett v Semenko incite
Northlands Coliseum crowd

season. With stars Ken Linseman and Paul Coffey on the bench, and Jari Kurri relegated to the less-lethal Extra Attacker position, the Oilers were icing their weakest possible lineup. A sleepy game was ignited by three consecutive Willi Plett-Dave Semenko fights in the 2nd period - inciting the Northlands Coliseum crowd to a deafening roar - and igniting Jari Kurri to score 4-consecutive goals as the Oilers keep pace with the 1st place Jets in the Smythe.

Toronto 3 at Los Angeles 5  - The Kings had an early scare in this one as Bernie Nicholls - by far the best player in their lineup - risked injury in the 1st when he decided to drop the gloves against Gary Nylund. Knocked down, but not out, Nicholls sparked a 4-goal 1st as the Kings held off a late surge by Rick Vaive and company, winning their 2nd game of the season.

Detroit 4 at Vancouver 4  - The Canucks scored two early and two late to earn a draw with the visiting Red Wings - a point they're happy to get without Thomas Gradin and Harold Snepsts in the lineup. Steve Yzerman had a chance to ice the game in the final minute, but rang one off the post, seconds later Gary Lupul tied the game, deking Corrado Micalef with 8 seconds left to tie the game.

Feature Game - New York Rangers (2-1-1) at Boston Bruins (2-2-0)