NHL ROUNDUP : Hartford’s Whitmore Saves 4-3 Victory Over Montreal

John Cullen and Pat Verbeek made an impressive return to the Hartford Whalers’ lineup at Montreal Monday night and got to see what all the fuss was over goaltender Kay Whitmore.

Verbeek had a goal and Cullen had two assists, but it was Whitmore’s 35 saves that helped seal the Whalers’ 4-3 victory over the Canadiens.

“We’d heard about how Kay was playing,” Verbeek said. “He played really well. When we had some letdowns defensively, he made the big stops.”

Adam Burt, Mikhail Andersson and rookie Geoff Sanderson also scored for Hartford. Stephan Lebeau, Matt Schneider and Kirk Muller scored for Montreal.

Burt gave the Whalers a two-goal lead at 9:51 of the second on a power play, but Lebeau’s screened shot with the man advantage at 19:52 put Montreal back in the game.

Montreal pressed for the tying goal, but Andersson slammed in Michel Picard’s pass 9:43 into the third period.

Schneider made it close again on a screened shot at 14:29, but the rookie Sanderson got his second of the season at 17:15 to clinch the victory.

Washington 5, N.Y. Rangers 3--Mike Gartner scored his 500th goal, but it was overshadowed when Peter Bondra and Kevin Hatcher scored third-period goals 1:58 apart that led to the Capitals’ victory at New York.

With New York leading, 3-2, Bondra scored his second goal of the game, tipping Al Iafrate’s shot from the point past Mike Richter at 5:39. Hatcher scored his goal less than two minutes later.

Gartner opened the scoring with the Rangers on a power play at 3:27. A 13-year NHL veteran, Gartner began his career with the Capitals, scoring 397 goals in 10 seasons before being traded to Minnesota in 1989. The North Stars dealt him to the Rangers the next season.