NHL Roundup : Oilers End 2-Game Losing Streak

Wayne Gretzky and Glen Anderson each scored twice to break a two-game Edmonton losing streak as the Oilers downed the Buffalo Sabres, 6-4, Monday night at Buffalo.

Jari Kurri and Mark Messier also scored for the Oilers. Gil Perreault scored twice, and Gilles Hamel and John Tucker added one each for the Sabres, who lost their second straight game at home after losing only two games in Buffalo all season up until that point.

After spotting the Sabres the opening goal, the Oilers got two unusual goals to take a 2-1 lead after the first period.

Gretzky’s first goal, a weak backhander that seemed to confuse Buffalo goaltender Tom Barrasso, tied it at 1-1 at 11:23, and then Anderson scored a little more than two minutes later on a weak shot from a bad angle.

Gretzky added his second of the game early in the second period on a snap shot from about 15 feet in front of the net.

Philadelphia 8, Pittsburgh 2--Thomas Eriksson started a first-period onslaught of four goals in less than five minutes, as the Flyers won their fifth straight.

The second-place Flyers, 13 points behind a week ago, moved within three points of first-place Washington in the NHL’s Patrick Division with two games in hand.

The defeat was the ninth straight for Pittsburgh, winless in its last 12 games (0-11-1).