Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!maytag!looking!clarinews From: clarinews@clarinet.com (JOHN SWENSON, UPI Sports Writer) Newsgroups: clari.sports.hockey,clari.sports.top Subject: NHL Roundup Keywords: hockey, men's professional Message-ID: Date: 3 Feb 90 05:41:53 GMT Lines: 62 Approved: clarinews@clarinet.com ACategory: sports Slugword: hkn-nhlrup Priority: major Format: summary ANPA: Wc: 691; Id: s0152; Sel: ns--s; Adate: 2-3-1230aes; Ver: sked Codes: yshpmxx. Mario Lemieux has been hearing the criticism around the NHL that his quest to top Wayne Gretzky's consecutive-game point-scoring record has been costing the Penguins in the standings. Lemieux went out and did something about it Friday night, scoring a hat trick to lead the Penguins to a 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. The points upped Lemieux's current streak to 41 straight games with at least one goal or assist, the second-longest in NHL history behind Gretzky's 51. More importantly, Lemieux's goals helped pull the Penguins into a three-way tie for the fourth and last playoff spot in the contentious Patrick Division. ``I think I'm a little too nervous before the game and early in the game and maybe think too much about the streak and not concentrate on what I have to do on the ice,'' said Lemieux. ``Sometimes early in the game I don't skate like I should and that's part of having a streak going for you.'' The Penguins took a 1-0 lead on Troy Loney's fourth goal of the season at 9:01 of the first period. Loney took a cross-ice pass from Mark Recchi and flipped a wrist shot past Oiler goalie Randy Exelby. Edmonton knotted the score 1-1 at 6:20 of the second period when Mark Lamb got the puck in front from Adam Graves and flipped it over Pittsburgh goaltender Wendell Young. The Oilers took a 2-1 lead 1:31 later when Geoff Smith scored his fourth of the season, an unassisted power-play goal, at 8:51. Pittsburgh tied it 2-2 at 11:18 of the second when Lemieux, the NHL's leading scorer with 106 points, wristed a shot over Exelby's shoulder from the left face-off circle for his 37th goal of the year. ``It's going to be Mario's record if and when he gets it,'' said Penguins defenseman Paul Coffey. ``We're all trying to get it to him early and get him his point, then we can just play hockey. We've got to have him scoring points to win hockey games.'' At 17:05, Peter Klima, scoring his 15th of the season, picked up a rebound from Craig MacTavish and put the puck past Young. Less than a minute later Lemieux scored his second power-play goal, tying the score 3-3 at 18:04 of the second period. The Penguins regained the lead, 4-3, with 0:27 left in the period when Mark Recchi took a pass from Lemieux in front and slid the puck into the net. The Penguins extended the lead to 5-3 at the 3:19 mark of the third period. Tony Tanti deflected in a shot by Zarley Zalapski for his 20th of the year. Lemieux's third goal, into an empty net with :33 to play, completed the hat trick and gave Pittsburgh a 6-3 lead. _I_s_l_a_n_d_e_r_s_ _5_,_ _C_a_p_i_t_a_l_s_ _3 At Uniondale, N.Y., Doug Crossman scored two goals and Hubie McDonough had a goal and an assist to push the New York Islanders, 18-6-2 in their last 26 games, into sole possession of first place in the Patrick Division ahead of the idle New Jersey Devils. The loss broke the Capitals' three-game winning streak, and left them with a 5-3 record under new coach Terry Murray. _R_e_d_ _W_i_n_g_s_ _5_,_ _M_a_p_l_e_ _L_e_a_f_s_ _2 At Detroit, Joe Kocur scored a goal and assisted on two others, and Doug Houda had a goal and assist to help the Red Wings to a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The victory was Detroit's third straight and pulled the Red Wings, 19-27-6, to within seven points of fourth-place Minnesota in the Norris Division. The Maple Leafs, 27-24-2, lost for only the second time in their last eight games. _J_e_t_s_ _8_,_ _C_a_n_u_c_k_s_ _1 At Winnipeg, Manitoba, Dale Hawerchuk scored his 21st goal and added a pair of assists to hand Vancouver its fifth straight loss. Winnipeg snapped a four-game winless streak (0-2-2), stretched its unbeaten streak against the Canucks to five (3-0-2) games and moved 18 points ahead of the last place Canucks in the Smythe Division. The Canucks are winless in seven games (0-5-2).