NHL Roundup : Surging Penguins Beat Sabres for Fifth Win in Row

Bob Errey scored two goals Friday night at Buffalo to lead the streaking Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-1 victory over the Sabres.

But the Penguins’ fifth consecutive victory may have been a costly one. Roberto Romano, who performed well in the other four wins, had to leave after being hit in the neck by a shot fired by Paul Cyr 50 seconds after the second period opened.

It has been a fine comeback by the Penguins, who lost 11 of their first 12 games. The victory moved them into a tie with the New York Rangers for fourth place in the tough Patrick Division, and they are only one point behind the New York Islanders.

Romano and 20-year-old center Mario Lemieux have sparked the surge. The Penguins do not believe Romano is seriously injured. For the rest of this game, at least, backup goalie Gilles Meloche performed admirably.

In the last two periods, he stopped 14 shots. However, he gave up the tying goal when the Sabres were short-handed. Defenseman Steve Dykstra fired a bullet from just outside the blue line that eluded Meloche and made it 1-1 at 6:14 of the final period.

In no time at all, Lemieux, the No. 2 scorer in the NHL behind the incomparable Wayne Gretzky, put the Penguins back on top. He took a centering pass from Doug Shedden and blasted the puck off goalie Tom Barrasso’s glove into the net at 6:48. Errey completed the scoring into an empty net with four seconds remaining.

“If we become a winning team someday, maybe I’ll get some recognition,” said Lemieux, who is playing despite a painful back problem. “But right now, it’s all Gretzky.”

Quebec 7, New York Islanders 3--After the Nordiques ended a slump by winning three in a row, Coach Michel Bergeron wasn’t impressed. He said his top scorers were in a slump, and it was hurting the team.

He had to be impressed with this victory at Quebec. The Nordiques knocked Billy Smith out of the nets by scoring six goals in two periods.

Peter Stastny had two goals, and Michel Goulet had a goal and two assists as the Nordiques moved within one point of Boston in the tight Adams Division race.

New Jersey 4, Vancouver 1--Aaron Broten scored twice at East Rutherford, N.J., to help the Devils break a three-game losing streak at the expense of slumping Vancouver.

The Canucks, who have lost seven and tied one in their last eight games, managed only one goal in 25 shots at veteran goalie Glenn Resch, who passed the 30,000-minute mark in NHL nets.

Calgary 5, Chicago 2--Carey Wilson scored twice at Calgary, and rookie defenseman Gary Suter scored his fourth goal to lead the Flames to victory.

The Flames, unbeaten in their last seven home games, are tied with Washington for the third-best record in the NHL. The Flames are 15-8-3 for 33 points, but they trail Edmonton in the Smythe Division by seven points.