John Pickett announced he had finally reached an agreement to sell the New York Islanders and suddendly fireworks erupted at Nassau Coliseum.
Steve Thomas scored with 17 seconds left in the third period Tuesday night to give the Islanders a 7-7 tie with the St. Louis Blues in a wild game that featured two hat tricks.Thomas' rebound off a shot from David Volek from 10 feet away careened in off the glove of goaltender Curtis Joseph and just under the crossbar.
New York's Ray Ferraro ran off three straight goals in a span of 4:43 early in the second period for his first hat trick this season and the sixth of his career.
Nordiques 5, Bruins 2
At Quebec, Greg Paslawski and Mike Hough each scored twice. The Nordiques are 4-0-1 in their last five overall and have won six in a row at home.
Capitals 4, Flames 1
At Landover, Md., Al Iafrate and Peter Bondra scored 47 seconds apart in the second period to spark the Capitals' third win in their last four games.
Red Wings 5, Blackhawks 3
At Detroit, Sergei Fedorov and Jimmy Carson each scored two goals for Detroit, 11-1-3 record in its last 15 games. The defeat snapped a three-game winning streak for the Blackhawks.
Penguins 5, Rangers 3
At Pittsburgh, Mark Recchi scored a pair of second-period goals, while Kevin Stevens added his 24th.
The contest was marred by a third-period free-for-all that resulted in three players being ejected.
Oilers 7, Canucks 4
At Vancouver, British Columbia, Scott Mellanby scored twice 3:21 apart in the third period to thwart a Vancouver comeback.
North Stars 4, Devils 3
At Bloomington, Minn., Bobby Smith scored his second goal of the game with 3:14 remaining to snap a 3-3 deadlock. The goal came only three minutes after the North Stars had tied the score on a fluke goal by rookie Derian Hatcher.
Sharks 3, Jets 3
At Daly City, Calif., Danton Cole and Phil Housley scored late third-period goals to rally the Jets.