NHL Roundup : Bourque Helps Set Up Sinden’s First Win, 3-2

Defenseman Ray Bourque set up two goals Wednesday night at Bloomington, Minn., to lead the Boston Bruins to a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota North Stars. It was the Bruins’ first win since Gerry Cheevers was replaced as coach by General Manager Harry Sinden.

In the first two games under Sinden, the Bruins, a struggling fourth in the Adams Division, tied the Kings and lost in overtime at Vancouver.

Wednesday night, the Bruins jumped in front on a goal by Geoff Courtnall before the game was three minutes old and built the lead to 3-0 before the North Stars rallied.

Goaltender Doug Keans lost his shutout when Tim Coulis scored at 8:06 of the last period. With almost eight minutes remaining, Gordie Roberts’ shot caromed off Keans’ skate into the net, but solid defensive play prevented the North Stars from tying the game.

The North Stars, who trail Detroit by four points in the Norris Division, are 3-7-1 in their last 11 games.

Pittsburgh 6, Calgary 3--Mario Lemieux, the No. 1 player chosen in the draft of junior players last spring, had been mostly a disappointment until he became the star of the All-Star game last week.

The young center had his best regular-season game for the Penguins in this one at Pittsburgh, scoring twice and assisting on three goals as the Penguins ended a nine-game losing streak.

Lemieux opened the scoring with his 25th goal of the season and closed it with his 26th. His performance ended the Penguins’ winless string at 12 games.

Rookie goaltender Brian Ford stopped 28 shots. He stopped 19 of the first 20 he faced to help the Penguins build a 3-1 lead.

The loss by Calgary enabled the idle Edmonton Oilers, the leaders in the Smythe Division, to become the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season.

Chicago 3, Montreal 2--Al Secord, in his third game back after missing 28 games because of a stomach-muscle injury, scored the first goal at Chicago and the Black Hawks never looked back.

The Black Hawks, 5-1-1 since General Manager Bob Pulford replaced Orval Tessier as coach, pulled to within six points of the Blues in the Smythe Division race.

Secord’s last previous goal was on Dec. 9. Until recently, the Black Hawks thought the brilliant left wing would miss the rest of the season.

A victory would have given the Canadiens sole possession of first place in the Adams Division.

Montreal outshot the Hawks, 34-16, but, after Mario Tremblay scored to narrow the lead to 3-2 midway through the last period, the Canadiens could not tie the score. In the last minute Montreal pulled goaltender Doug Soetaert and had a 6-4 manpower advantage but still couldn’t score.

Detroit 3, St. Louis 2--John Ogrodnick scored his 39th goal early in the third period at Detroit to break a 2-2 tie.

It was the second loss in a row for the Blues after compiling a nine-game unbeaten streak.

The victory strengthened the Red Wings’ hold on third place in the Smythe Division.