Penguin Rookie Goalie Lalime Off to Record Start

Patrick Lalime became one of the unlikeliest NHL record-holders Wednesday night.

Lalime made 31 saves and became the first rookie goaltender since NHL expansion in 1967 to open his career with a 15-game unbeaten streak as Pittsburgh beat the Whalers, 3-0, at Hartford, Conn.

Lalime improved his record to 13-0-2 and surpassed the 14-game unbeaten streaks by Montreal’s Ken Dryden (1970-71) and Boston’s Ross Brooks (1972-73) at the start of their careers.

“When I came in the league, I was kind of shaky,” Lalime said. “After that, I said, ‘Stop being impressed. Just go out there and have fun.”

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux extended his scoring streak to 14 games with three assists and Jaromir Jagr scored his league-leading 41st goal. Kevin Hatcher and Jason Woolley also scored for the Penguins, who extended their unbeaten streak to 13 games (11-0-2).

Buffalo 2, N.Y. Islanders 1--Matthew Barnaby scored with three minutes left in regulation, giving the Sabres a victory over the Islanders at Uniondale, N.Y.

Donald Audette also scored for the Sabres. Bryan Smolinski scored the Islanders’ only goal.

Ottawa 5, Washington 1--Daniel Alfredsson, Randy Cunneyworth and Sergei Zholtok each had a goal and two assists at Kanata, Canada, as the Senators ended the Capitals’ six-game unbeaten streak.

The Capitals’ Peter Bondra also had his career-high, 10-game point streak ended.

Colorado 4, Tampa Bay 2--Keith Jones and Sandis Ozolinsh scored third-period goals at Denver as the Avalanche extended their unbeaten streak to 11 games (8-0-3), tying a franchise record.

St. Louis 4, Phoenix 1--Pierre Turgeon scored the first and last goals of the game and Grant Fuhr stopped 24 shots as the Blues rolled at Phoenix.

Edmonton 4, Florida 0--Curtis Joseph stopped 40 shots for his team-record fifth shutout of the season and Ryan Smyth scored twice on the power play to lead the Oilers past the Panthers at Edmonton, Canada. Joseph broke Grant Fuhr’s 1987-88 mark.