clarinews@clarinet.com (01/18/90)
MONTREAL (UPI) -- David Volek scored twice and Pat Lafontaine added his 40th goal of the season Wednesday night to carry the New York Islanders to their eighth straight victory, a 6-3 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens. The Islanders have lost only once in their last 14 games, dropping a game Dec. 30 to Quebec. The victory carried the Islanders into a first-place tie with the New Jersey Devils in the Patrick Division. New York scored twice within 13 seconds in the second period to grab a 3-1 lead. At 13:15, Volek got his second goal of the contest with a shot from the faceoff circle to the far side of the Montreal net. Gerald Diduck then scored at 3:28, grabbing a rebound off the boards and firing a blistering drive into the net. Shayne Corson narrowed the lead to 3-2 at 6:27 on a power-play goal, taking the puck from the corner of the rink and tossing it into the far corner of the net. Lafontaine pushed the advantage to 4-2 when he received the puck behind the Montreal net, skated in front and fired a quick backhander past goalie Patrick Roy. A deflection by Don Maloney which went through Roy's pads at 3:26 of the final period, improved New York's lead to 5-2. Corson scored his second goal of the night and 20th of the season at 13:15 of the final period while the Islanders were playing two men short. But Hubie McDonough scored his 10th goal of the season for the Islanders at 15:42 to stop any Montreal rally. Mats Naslund gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 13:05 of the first period when he deflected a Craig Ludwig drive from the blue line past goaltender Mark Fitzpatrick. Volek tied the score 1-1 at 15:44 with his 11th goal as the Islanders were on a power play. Volek used a wrist shot to get the puck into the short side of the cage. The loss left the Canadiens in third place in the Adams Division, two points behind the Buffalo Sabres.