NHL Roundup : Arbour Is at a Loss in Return

At the beginning of this decade, when he led the New York Islanders to 4 Stanley Cups, Al Arbour was accustomed to winning when his team scored 5 goals.

Upon his return as coach Friday night at East Rutherford, N.J., Arbour learned that in the Gretzky age, offense has become king, and 5 goals aren’t enough.

That’s because John MacLean scored 3 goals for the second game in a row to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 6-5 victory that spoiled Arbour’s comeback.

It was the ninth straight loss for the once-powerful Islanders, who are off to their worst start since the expansion season of 1972-73.

Arbour retired after the 1985-86 season, and Terry Simpson took over. But Simpson was fired Thursday, and Arbour returned as coach of the faltering team.

The Islanders, trying to get Arbour off to a good start, scored 4 goals in 17 minutes. But MacLean scored twice in the second period to wipe out the Islander lead.

There were only 5 minutes remaining in the game when MacLean beat goaltender Kelly Hrudey from just outside the crease for his 17th goal.

Until MacLean’s consecutive hat tricks produced victories, the Devils were 0-7-1. The Islanders, meanwhile, had not lost nine in a row since 1974.

In addition to losing the game, the Islanders lost Alan Kerr and Richard Pilon with injuries. Kerr had a sprained left knee, but Pilon’s injury was not announced.

Detroit 4, Toronto 3--At Detroit, Gerard Gallant scored twice, goaltender Greg Stefan stopped 33 shots, and the Maple Leafs lost their fifth in a row.

Steve Yzerman’s goal-scoring streak ended at 9 games, but he assisted on Gallant’s game-winning goal.

The Maple Leafs, who opened the season 8-3-1, have lost 13 of their last 16.

Detroit (15-9-4) leads the Norris Division by 8 points.

Quebec 4, Vancouver 2--In a battle of last-place teams at Vancouver, the Nordiques jumped to a 3-0 lead, and the Canucks couldn’t catch up.

The victory pulled the Nordiques within 3 points of Hartford in the Adams Division. The Canucks, after losing their second home game in a row, are 11-15-5.