NHL ROUNDUP : ‘Slumping’ Leafs Tied by Stars

For the Toronto Maple Leafs, a loss and a tie qualifies as a slump.

That’s what happens when a team gets off to the best start in NHL history with a 10-game winning streak.

“The way they’ve been playing, we’ll take the tie,” Dallas Stars defenseman Mark Tinordi said after Monday night’s 3-3 tie with the NHL’s hottest team.

The Maple Leafs’ spectacular streak finally came to an end at Montreal Saturday night when they were beaten 5-2 by the Canadiens.

“If you can get three goals against a team that plays defense as well as they do, it’s an accomplishment,” said Dallas left wing Mike McPhee, whose goal with 7:30 left in regulation evened the game at 3-3.

Before McPhee scored, the Maple Leafs were on the verge of taking control when they grabbed a 3-2 lead on Wendel Clark’s third-period goal, his 10th of the season. Clark also had two assists.

The Maple Leafs knew the Stars, 3-1-3 at home, would be no pushover.

“We went into a building where they’d only lost one game,” Clark said. “This is a tough place to play. I thought we played hard and played well. We’ve still got only one loss. You’ve got to be happy with that.”

Blues 4, Whalers 2--Brett Hull scored two goals, including the game-winner, as the Blues defeated the slumping Whalers.

Hull’s power-play goal broke a 2-2 tie when he took a centering pass from Craig Janney and beat Hartford goaltender Frank Pietrangelo at 16:02. Janney scored an empty-netter for the final margin.

Brendan Shanahan also scored his 10th of the season for the Blues, who won their third straight while extending the Whalers’ winless streak (0-7-1) to eight games.

The Whalers outshot St. Louis 31-30.