NHL ROUNDUP : Richer’s Hat Trick Does Trick for Devils

Stephane Richer, after putting together some big seasons at Montreal, was upset when the Canadiens traded him to the New Jersey Devils during the off-season.

But when the Devils’ John MacLean, a 45-goal scorer, injured his knee before the season, Richer became the key offensive player.

Richer climaxed a fine performance Wednesday night at East Rutherford, N.J., with a goal at 1:41 of overtime that gave the Devils a 6-5 victory that ended Washington’s four-game winning streak.

The winning score was his third of the game and 11th of the season. It also moved the Devils (12-9-0) within six points of the Capitals (15-5-0), the leader of the Patrick Division.

Pittsburgh 5, Philadelphia 2--Kevin Stevens scored his 16th goal, extending his scoring streak to a career-high 10 games to lead the Penguins at Pittsburgh.

Stevens has had 13 goals and 11 assists during his streak.

St. Louis 5, Toronto 2--Brett Hull finally solved goaltender Grant Fuhr and scored twice to lead the Blues at St. Louis.

In four meetings this season, last season’s top goal scorer had taken 18 shots at Fuhr, and the Maple Leafs’ goalie stopped them all. Hull broke the string on his first shot, eight minutes into the game. He scored again in the third period and leads the NHL with 18 goals.

Winnipeg 3, N.Y. Islanders 1--The Islanders sought their fourth victory in a row, but goaltender Bob Essensa stopped 40 shots at Winnipeg to win his 50th NHL game.

Buffalo 3, Boston 1--Donald Audette scored twice for the Sabres and Brad May broke the 1-1 tie in the second period.