Flyers’ doubled up in Toronto, 4-2, by the Maple Leafs.
November 30, 2008
Whatever message new general manager Brian Burke gave to the Toronto Maple Leafs, it surely got through.
One of Burke’s first acts as team president and GM was to address the players before Saturday night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The theme of his message was that everyone should relax.
The Maple Leafs did and responded with one of their strongest efforts of the season, topping the Flyers 4-2.
Vesa Toskala made 28 saves, and Dominic Moore and Nik Antropov each had a goal and an assist to help Toronto win for the first time in six games.
“I think Brian did a good job to relax them from — I hate to be blunt — but the dumb questions you guys have been asking our players, that they’re all going to be traded,” coach Ron Wilson said. “Brian assured them that wasn’t going to happen, and that’s the best thing that he could have done.”
The Maple Leafs looked strong from the opening whistle, showing a willingness to take the body and compete against one of the NHL’s hottest teams. Philadelphia took its first regulation loss in three weeks.
Even some players acknowledged that Burke’s arrival might have made a difference.
“As players, there’s always going to be stuff that’s going on that’s going to distract you,” Moore said. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another. That’s the challenge that everybody faces, to play a focused game and not worry about surrounding things that are out of their control
“I think it’s good that he’s here and everybody can continue along the path that we’re on.”
Lee Stempniak and Pavel Kubina also had goals for Toronto (8-9-6). Mike Richards scored both for the Flyers (11-7-5). Philadelphia had won six straight before falling in overtime at home to Carolina on Friday.
Toskala helped make the difference. He stood tall during a couple of power plays in the third period, getting his glove on a fantastic chance by Simon Gagne from in close.
“The puck seems to hit me now and that’s a nice feeling,” Toskala said. “As a team, we played hard. It was really important to get a win now because we’ve had a losing streak going.”
The Flyers lamented missed opportunities.
“I thought we hung in there,” coach John Stevens said. “I thought we played hard and with a lot of energy and I thought we created enough chances to win. We just didn’t find the net.”
Playing for the second time in as many days, they also found a tough opponent. Clearly, a few of the Leafs are aware that Burke prefers a physical style of hockey.
Andre Deveaux and Jamal Mayers each engaged in fights during the first period, something Burke must have enjoyed as he watched from the press box.
“Our team plays a North American game, we’re throwbacks,” he said before the game. “We don’t apologize for that. It’s black and blue hockey.”
The Leafs scored first when Stempniak netted his first goal since being acquired. He charged to the net, and Moore’s hit his left skate and went in at 14:45 of the first period.
That provided for a player who arrived earlier this week in a trade with St. Louis.
“The toughest thing coming to a new team is you want to fit in with the guys and you want to contribute,” Stempniak said. “It was great to score the first goal, especially in a win. It’s definitely exciting.”
The Maple Leafs were quick to note that it was just one win.
“Rebuilding won’t be easy,” Burke said. “When you change the general manager, you don’t change the team. It will take some time and some effort. Changing the general manager doesn’t change the roster.”
“He can’t turn water into wine any more than I can,” Wilson said. “It’s going to take some time to get everything into place.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Hurricanes snap Flyers six game winning streak with 3-2 OT win in Philly.
November 30, 2008
Sergei Samsonov used his speed to snap both a winning streak and losing streak.
Samsonov scored with 1:07 left in overtime and the Carolina Hurricanes snapped the Philadelphia Flyers’ six-game winning streak 3-2 on Friday.
“You try to get as much speed as you can to avoid the pokecheck,” Samsonov said of his winning goal. “Once I got to the net, I had more room than I thought, so I just tried to squeeze one by.”
Samsonov skated in to the goalmouth and put a forehand shot past goaltender Martin Biron’s glove side as the Hurricanes ended their three-game slide.
“Every game seems to be a battle for us,” Samsonov explained. “We’ve been playing from behind a lot lately, so it’s not a good thing. We try to stay positive.”
The Flyers, who had won seven of their previous eight, were denied their longest winning streak since they won eight straight in 1999-2000.
Biron said that Samsonov’s move on the deciding goal caught him off-guard.
“I thought that he was going to go around me to the glove side a little further out, but he made a quick shot right away,” the goaltender said.
Patrick Dwyer and Tuomo Ruutu also scored for the Hurricanes. Joffrey Lupul and Jeff Carter each had a goal and an assist for the Flyers.
Carolina goaltender Cam Ward stopped 24 shots, including brilliant saves on breakaways by Scottie Upshall and Carter late in the first period.
Carolina coach Peter Laviolette noted Ward has been playing well lately.
“He’s been real good,” Laviolette said. “He’s seeing the puck really well and we have to give him a little offensive help.”
Biron, who had 27 saves, was shaken up early in the third period when a shot by Eric Staal hit him in the shoulder or collarbone area. His best save came late in the first period when he snared Staal’s close-in shot in mid-air.
“I’m getting opportunities, I’m getting shots. They’re just not falling,” said Staal, who is unhappy because he has not scored in the last four games. “I consider myself an offensive guy. I want to score goals.”
Lupul put the Flyers ahead with a power play goal early in the first period when his shot deflected off the stick of Carolina defenseman Joni Pitkanen over the left shoulder of Ward.
The Hurricanes went ahead with a pair of goals within 1:06 late in the second period.
Dwyer deflected a shot by Pitkanen for his first career goal at 15:00. Ruutu followed with a shot from just inside the blue line that bounced off the leg of Philadelphia defenseman Ossi Vaananen.
Carter tied it 2-2 with his league-leading 16th goal with 46 seconds left in the period, streaking in to score on a backhander.
An apparent goal by Mike Richards was disallowed when the Flyers were called for too many men on the ice earlier in the second period.
“We had some great opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on,” Flyers coach John Stevens said. “We let them (Carolina) hang around and because of that, they end up winning the hockey game.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Flyers record sixth straight win in 2008 as they dump the Hurricanes.
November 27, 2008
An exhausted Matt Carle headed for Philadelphia’s bench, but none of his teammates noticed. So he stayed on the ice and wound up scoring the goal that gave his team its longest winning streak in four years.
The Flyers won their sixth straight Wednesday night, beating the slumping Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 behind two goals and an assist from Simon Gagne.
Carle scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period to propell the Flyers to their first six-game winning streak since Oct. 30-Nov. 12, 2005.
Not that the defenseman — who entered with a team-leading 53 blocked shots — was thinking about uncorking a shot of his own. Something else was on his mind.
“I was trying to get a change. I was gassed,” Carle said.
The decisive sequence was started by Gagne after a Carolina turnover led to an odd-man rush during a 4-on-4 play. He slipped the puck to Carle during Philadelphia’s 3-on-1 break, and the defenseman put the Flyers up 2-1 by beating Cam Ward high to his glove side for his second goal.
“The puck got turned over, and I tried to see if I could get in the play,” Carle said. “Simon made a good play, and the goalie was out of position, and I jut tried to get the shot off as quick as possible.”
Antero Niittymaki made 27 saves for the streaky Flyers, who opened the season with six consecutive losses and now have won six straight for the first time since Oct. 30-Nov. 12, 2005.
“Party time? I don’t know about that,” defenseman Luca Sbisa said. “For sure, it’s great to be on a winning streak instead of being on a losing streak. We didn’t have a pretty good start to the season. … Now we’re sitting in the other boat.”
Chad LaRose scored for the third straight game, and Ward made 24 saves for Carolina before he was pulled with 1:45 left for an extra attacker. The Hurricanes held a 28-27 advantage in shots despite putting just one puck on net in the first period, yet lost their third straight and sixth in nine games.
“We played the first period like a game of pond hockey,” Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said.
Gagne gave Philadelphia an early lead six minutes in, taking advantage when four Carolina players surrounded the puck in front of Ward in an attempt to clear it. When it clicked off a skate and slipped Gagne’s way, he chipped it in from the right side of the net.
“You can throw film out the window — I think execution and energy and heart and downright gritty work (are) where you’re going to get it done,” LaRose said. “Sometimes there (are) lulls during the game, and sometimes that costs you games.”
Gagne then capped his big night by beating the final buzzer and scoring into an empty net for his 13th goal. He has five goals and 11 assists during his nine-game point streak.
Carolina — booed during the first intermission after its early offensive futility — tied it 1-all roughly two minutes into the second when LaRose wristed a shot off Niittymaki’s pads and sneaked the rebound through the goalie’s legs for his seventh of the season.
“It’s not good that they scored, but it is good that something happened,” Niittymaki said. “I needed to wake up my body a little bit. I felt good, even though they scored right away. I started feeling better.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Flyers beat Stars, 4-3, to run winning steak to five games.
November 25, 2008
Mike Knuble and the Philadelphia Flyers are finally generating momentum.
Knuble scored two goals, including the tiebreaker at 14:52 of the third period, and the Flyers beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 Monday night for their fifth consecutive victory.
Philadelphia opened the season by dropping its first six games. Then, after winning four in a row, the Flyers lost another three in a row.
“We dug ourselves a little bit of a hole so it’s nice to climb up in the standings,” Knuble said.
Simon Gagne set up the go-ahead goal by stealing the puck at the blue line and passing it to Mike Richards, who fed Knuble in the slot for a one-timer.
Philadelphia coach John Stevens said Knuble has “really played well” since he was put back on the top line with Gagne.
“I think he looks reborn,” Stevens said about the 36-year-old veteran. “Those two have chemistry together. Mike keeps himself in good shape. He works hard at his game. He is out long after practice.”
Scottie Upshall and Jeff Carter also scored for the Flyers. Gagne extended his points streak to eight games (three goals, 10 assists) with a pair of assists on Knuble’s goals.
Mike Modano scored twice and Landon Wilson had a goal for the Stars, who have lost three in a row and six of seven.
Modano pulled within two points of 1,300. Now in his 19th season, he would become the 31st NHL player to surpass that plateau.
“A couple of bang-bang plays, a couple of pucks lying around and I took advantage of them,” Modano said.
Martin Biron, who stopped 22 shots, said Philadelphia’s penalty killing played a huge role in the win. The Flyers held the Stars scoreless on all five power plays, including three in the last 12 minutes.
“That’s two games now that we got a kill in the last minutes of the game,” Biron explained. “I don’t think they got a shot in the last minute today. A lot of blocked shots, screen plays that we are cutting, or we’re keeping the play to one side of the ice. It makes it a lot easier for the guys to make their reads and make it easier for me.”
Dallas goalie Marty Turco, playing in his 400th game, had 21 saves.
The Flyers took the lead at 3:15 of the first period when Upshall took a pass on the stick from Joffrey Lupul and shoveled the puck into the net while sliding on one knee.
Wilson tied it at 11:33 with a wrist shot past Biron’s glove side. It was his first goal since March 2004 with Pittsburgh.
Knuble put the Flyers ahead 2-1 at 16:00 when he muscled between Dallas defenders Mike Ribeiro and Trevor Daley and scored with a forehand shot.
Dallas made it 2-all when Modano ripped a rebound of a shot by Loui Eriksson into the net at 2:30 of the second period.
Carter and Modano traded one-timers off passes from behind the net to leave the score tied at 3-3 after two periods.
Carter scored at 14:22 after taking a pass from Scott Hartnell. Modano notched his second goal of the night at 17:26, with Daley getting the assist.
Carter tied Buffalo’s Thomas Vanek for the NHL lead with 15 goals.
Dallas coach Dave Tippett said a slow start hurt the Stars, who fought back from deficits of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2.
“We didn’t start very well at all,” Tippett explained. “We had a lot of deer in headlights. Once we got engaged we were OK.”
Philadelphia’s Andreas Nodl had an apparent goal disallowed in the first period when the referee ruled the puck was frozen under the goalie.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
2008 NHL regular season game preview - Stars vs Flyers.
November 24, 2008
Though the Philadelphia Flyers turned in disappointing results at the start of the month, it hasn’t taken them long to find success.
Seeking their season-high fifth straight victory, the Flyers meet the struggling Dallas Stars on Monday night at the Wachovia Center.
Philadelphia (9-6-4) opened November with three straight losses, but rebounded by winning five of its next six contests (5-0-1). That stretch has been capped by four straight victories, including Saturday’s 4-3 overtime decision against Phoenix.
Jeff Carter tied the score in the last minute of regulation, then set up captain Mike Richards’ game-winning goal 1:35 into the extra period.
Carter, second in the NHL with 14 goals, has five goals and an assist in his last five contests and has 18 points.
“He is really playing unreal,” said Richards, who has 11 points in as many games and is second on the Flyers with 21 points. “He’s doing a lot of good things on the penalty kill and on the power play. Right now he’s doing everything he can to win us hockey games.”
The same can be said about Martin Biron, who is 4-0-1 with a 1.76 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage in his last five starts. He made 25 saves Saturday, and will likely be in net versus Dallas (6-9-4) as he is 5-3-0 with a 2.65 GAA in eight career matchups against the Stars.
Monday’s contest features the losers from last season’s conference finals. Philadelphia was bested by Pittsburgh in the East, while Dallas lost to eventual Stanley Cup champion Detroit in the West.
But the Stars haven’t been playing like postseason contenders through the first seven weeks of 2008-09, sitting last in the Pacific Division.
One area of concern for Dallas has been a defense that has surrendered a conference-worst 70 goals. The squad, however, turned in a decent effort in a 2-1 shootout loss to visiting Anaheim on Saturday.
“The way things have been going, it goes without saying that there were some positives (Saturday),” said Marty Turco, who has a 3.49 GAA while starting all but two of the Stars’ games this season. “We’re emphasizing the little things and it’s nice to get the point, but we really wanted the win.”
Dallas is also hurting without captain Brenden Morrow, who suffered a season-ending injury in Friday’s loss to Chicago. The left wing will miss six months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, but his surgery has yet to be scheduled.
“There’s not too many guys in the league you’d miss as much as Brenden Morrow,” Turco said. “We’ve got to pick up the slack.”
Turco has compiled a 1.66 GAA in four career starts versus the Flyers, and had posted three ties against them before stopping 18 of 19 shots to lead Dallas to a 4-1 victory at Philadelphia on Dec. 1, 2007.
Turco hopes to contain Philadelphia’s Simon Gagne, who has three goals and eight assists during a seven-game point streak. His 25 points are tied for fifth in the league.
Dallas has won the last two meetings with Philadelphia, and will be trying for the first three-game winning streak in the teams’ all-time series.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
2008 NHL regular season game preview - Flyers vs Sabres.
November 21, 2008
Former Buffalo Sabres goaltender Martin Biron currently has the Philadelphia Flyers on the winning track. The same can’t be said for the goalie who took Biron’s starting spot with his old team.
The once-dependable Ryan Miller has been struggling, and the Sabres have slumped of late as they head into Friday’s home matchup with the resurgent Flyers.
Miller started the season 7-1-1 and recorded consecutive shutouts of Washington and Philadelphia, but has allowed 22 goals in his last five starts while going 1-3-1.
As Miller has faltered, so has Buffalo (9-6-3), which is 1-4-1 in its last six. The Sabres opened the season 6-0-2.
The low point for the Sabres and their goalie came in Wednesday’s 7-4 loss at Boston. Miller allowed six goals in the first two periods as the Bruins twice rallied from two-goal deficits. He was lifted after giving up the seventh goal 1:16 into the third.
The goal total tied a career high for Miller, who lost 7-2 to Detroit on Dec. 10, 2003.
“I have to find ways to get in the way, stop some pucks,” said Miller, whose goals-against average has risen from 1.62 to 2.61. “We just have to get over the hump.”
If recent history is any indication, Miller and Buffalo could get back in the win column versus the Flyers. Miller is 5-0-1 with a 2.60 GAA in his last six starts versus Philadelphia, and the Sabres are 11-4-1 with one tie in their last 17 meetings with the Flyers.
Buffalo leading scorer Thomas Vanek cooled off briefly after recording 12 goals in his first 13 games, but he’s started to regain his touch. He scored twice against Boston and has three goals in the last two games, although he has just five goals in 18 games versus Philadelphia.
Buffalo’s Jason Pominville and Derek Roy have been much better against the Flyers. Pominville has eight goals and seven assists in 11 career matchups, while Roy has recorded six goals in his last eight games against Philadelphia.
Pominville has a four-game goal streak and 10 points in his last eight games, including a goal and two assists Wednesday.
While Buffalo has been struggling, streaky Philadelphia (7-6-4) has gone 3-0-1 in its last four games over a six-day span. The Flyers opened 0-3-3, then won four in a row and lost three straight before their current run.
“To get seven out of eight points is exactly what we needed,” Philadelphia coach John Stevens said. “We needed to help ourselves.”
Biron and Antero Niittymaki have combined to allow 11 goals in the last five games. Biron, who started 273 games in nine seasons with Buffalo, has lowered his GAA from 3.79 to 3.12 in winning two of his last three starts. Niittymaki has also won two of his last three, most recently defeating Atlanta 4-3 on Sunday.
Biron is scheduled to start Friday, and has gone 2-2-1 with a 3.88 GAA against his former team.
Simon Gagne, among the NHL leaders with 11 goals and 22 points, has a point in every game but one this season and recorded a goal and an assist Sunday. He has 18 goals and 17 assists in 42 meetings with Buffalo.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Flyers continue dominance of Thrashers with 4-3 win in Philly.
November 16, 2008
Joffrey Lupul scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, Antero Niittymaki maintained his perfect record against Atlanta and the Flyers snapped the Thrashers’ five-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory Sunday night.
Simon Gagne had a goal and two assists, Mike Knuble had a goal and assist, and Kimmo Timonen also scored to help the Flyers win their second straight and third in four games. Erik Christensen, Bryan Little and Vyacheslav Kozlov scored for Atlanta.
Erik Christensen, Bryan Little and Vyacheslav Kozlov scored for Atlanta, which had dropped six straight games before its five-game streak.
Kozlov hammered in a rebound at 12:03 of the third period to pull the Thrashers back from a two-goal deficit to a 3-3 tie.
One minute later, Lupul skated in from center ice, slipped around a defender at the face off circle, and put a slap shot from the slot between goalie Johan Hedberg’s pads.
Niittymaki, who blanked the Thrashers 7-0 with 24 saves earlier this season, is 11-0 against Atlanta. He stopped 21 shots in the third period.
Niittymaki is one of only two active goaltenders in the NHL with a perfect record in at least 10 decisions against one team. Chris Osgood, of the Detroit Red Wings, is 17-0 against Tampa Bay.
Niittymaki helped preserve the Flyers’ lead in the second period when the Thrashers had a two-man advantage for 1:12. He’s 2-1-2 this season.
Hedberg had 28 saves for Atlanta.
Gagne scored unassisted to put the Flyers ahead 53 seconds into the first period. He picked up a loose puck deep in the Flyers’ zone, skated in, and went forehand to backhand for his 11th goal.
Knuble made it 2-0 with seven seconds left in the period. He scored his seventh goal on a wrist shot from the left circle after taking a cross-ice pass from Gagne.
Christensen got Atlanta on the board at 5:45 of the second period when his shovel shot from the slot trickled past Niittymaki. It was his first goal in 19 games dating to last March.
Timonen put the Flyers ahead 3-1 with a slap shot from behind the left circle on a power play at 11:27. Knuble picked up his 200th career assist on the goal.
Little got Atlanta to within 3-2 with a fluke goal 35 seconds into the third period. Niittymaki stopped his first shot, but the puck bounced off Philadelphia defenseman Luca Sbisa back into the net.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Flyers’ end 7 game losing streak to Canadiens with 2-1 win.
November 16, 2008
Despite their regular-season struggles against the Montreal Canadiens, the Philadelphia Flyers felt right at home with a playoff mentality at the Bell Centre.
Scottie Upshall and Jeff Carter scored second-period goals to lead Philadelphia to a 2-1 victory over Montreal on Saturday night.
The Flyers, who eliminated the Canadiens from the playoffs in five games last spring, ended a seven-game losing streak against Montreal in the regular season, including a 5-3 loss at the Wachovia Center on Oct. 13.
“A lot was made of it last year going into the playoffs, but we knew that we could win in here,” Philadelphia coach John Stevens said. “We came in last year in Game 5 and ended up winning the series here. It was just a great atmosphere to be part of a hockey game — this building’s electric and I thought it was tonight.”
Carter, whose 11th goal put the Flyers up 2-0, was focused on the team’s recent success that saw it wrap up a three-game road trip with five of a possible six points (2-0-1), rather than ending its regular-season skid against Montreal.
“That’s just the media blowing it up — no offense, but we go game by game and obviously we want to win every game,” Carter said. “They’re a tough opponent and we’ve had some success here lately and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Martin Biron stopped 24 shots, carrying a shutout bid just short of the midway point in the third period.
Upshall opened the scoring with his second goal of the season 5:30 into the second period, and Carter got his team-leading 11th goal at 15:36 to increase the lead to 2-0.
Alex Tanguay scored 9:44 into the third to draw Montreal within one, mere moments after the Canadiens had an apparent goal by Guillaume Latendresse waved off because the goal had become displaced.
Jaroslav Halak made 29 saves for Montreal, which lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time this season. The Canadiens have one win in their last five games (1-3-1) after an 8-1-1 start.
“I think we’re relying too much on what we did last year, both as a team and as individual players,” coach Guy Carbonneau said. “We did some nice things last year, but last year is last year. When you start a new season you don’t start with 20 goals or 13 assists or 40 assists, you start at zero. You have to work for those points, and right now we have guys who think they’re working, but they’re not working.”
Montreal learned earlier in the day that defenseman Mike Komisarek is sidelined for at least a week and will not accompany the team on its upcoming three-game road trip. Komisarek sustained an undisclosed upper body injury during a fight with Milan Lucic on Thursday night in a 6-1 loss in Boston.
Flyers captain Mike Richards made a fine play to allow Philadelphia to break the scoreless tie early in the second when he directed a hard pass toward the goalmouth from the left side. Upshall redirected the puck past Halak for his first goal in 10 games.
“I knew (Upshall) was out there,” Richards said. “I knew he was going to the net and I just wanted to give him time to get there, and I threw it there and he made a great play to tip it over his glove.”
The Flyers increased their lead to two on another nice setup later in the middle period as Simon Gagne fed the puck past Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov to Carter, who drove the net and beat Halak with a shot over the Montreal goalie’s glove into the top right corner.
“He was holding his glove pretty low, there, and I got all of it,” Carter said.
A potential third Philadelphia goal was waved off immediately at the end of the period. A video review confirmed that time had already expired when Gagne’s shot went in.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
2008 NHL regular season game preview - Flyers vs Canadiens.
November 15, 2008
Considering how well they’ve done against the Philadelphia Flyers during the regular season lately, the Montreal Canadiens should be happy to see them coming to town.
Their fans surely won’t provide a warm welcome.
The Flyers will play in Montreal on Saturday for the first time since dealing the Canadiens a stunning exit from last season’s playoffs.
A 5-3 victory at Philadelphia on Oct. 13 in the only meeting this season ran Montreal’s regular-season winning streak in this series to seven. But after losing all four matchups during the 2007-08 season, the Flyers ousted the top-seeded Canadiens from the second round of the playoffs in five games, capped by a 6-4 win in Montreal (9-3-2).
“It’s in the back of your mind that it’s still the team that put us out last year and you’re going to have a little bit of a grudge, but it’s a new year,” Montreal goalie Carey Price said after making 29 saves in last month’s victory in Philadelphia (5-6-4).
Price has won all four regular-season starts he’s made versus the Flyers while posting a 1.75 goals-against average, but was 1-3 with a 4.13 GAA in the playoff series.
The second-year netminder might be pleased to be back home, where he’s 4-1-0 with a 1.69 GAA this season. Price posted his only shutout of the season in his most recent outing at the Bell Centre, 4-0 over Ottawa on Tuesday.
He followed that performance by giving up six goals in a road start for the second straight time as Montreal fell 6-1 to Boston on Thursday.
“They had more of a fight and they put in the effort, and we didn’t,” said Price, who has a 3.45 GAA on the road compared to 1.69 at home.
Philadelphia put up a good fight Thursday on the road against defending Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh, but lost 5-4 in a shootout. The Flyers overcame a three-goal deficit by scoring four times in the second period, including two short-handed goals by Simon Gagne, but Martin Biron gave up the tying goal to Sidney Crosby with 2:33 left in regulation.
“The encouraging thing was we were able to come back against a good team,” coach John Stevens said.
Stevens hopes his players are particularly motivated after a very tough loss, the Flyers’ fourth in five games, after which their dressing room door stayed closed for an extended period.
“Late in the (third) period we were doing a lot of good things, and then one mistake against a team that’s very opportunistic and it’s 4-4,” said center Mike Richards, who has a seven-game point streak. “It’s a tough way to lose a game.”
Gagne has five goals and seven assists in his last seven games. He tops the NHL with four short-handed goals - one more than the Canadiens have this season - and Philadelphia leads the league with eight.
The Flyers have yet to give up a short-handed goal and they’ve allowed only one goal in their opponents’ last 20 power plays.
Montreal, which is 2-for-22 with the man advantage in its last four home games, has lost three of four overall since opening the season 8-1-1.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Flyers lose 8th straight to Penguins at Mellon Arena in shootout.
November 14, 2008
No lead is safe with the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, just as no deficit is too big to overcome. Here’s some advice for the rest of the NHL, though: Don’t take them into overtime.
Penguins rookie Alex Goligoski scored on his first career shootout attempt after Sidney Crosby tied it late in the third period with his second goal, and Pittsburgh rallied to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 after blowing a three-goal lead Thursday night.
Simon Gagne scored twice short-handed during a four-goal second period that put the Flyers up 4-3, but the Penguins came back to win two nights after they rallied from three goals down in the third period to beat Detroit 7-6 in overtime.
“That was a tough game to play emotionally because of the game in Detroit,” Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. “We found a way to get a three-goal lead, but our power play was not very good (1-for-7) and it gave them an opportunity to get back into the game.”
Goligoski, the sixth and final Pittsburgh shooter, shifted the puck from backhand to forehand before sliding it along the goal line and into the net behind goalie Martin Biron, who made 27 saves but couldn’t preserve the 4-3 lead.
“It’s a move I’ve done before,” said Goligoski, a defenseman who has scored three goals. “If something was open to shoot I would have shot, but, yeah, I kind of knew what I was doing.”
Biron stopped the more-accomplished Petr Sykora, Kris Letang, Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Miroslav Satan before Goligoski scored.
“The kid’s pretty good at shootouts in practice,” Therrien said. “We practice it every week. He definitely has the skill.”
Backup goalie Dany Sabourin, who replaced Marc-Andre Fleury to start the third, stopped 11 shots before turning aside Gagne, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Kimmo Timonen, Joffrey Lupul and Scott Hartnell in the shootout.
“It’s something I practiced during the summer,” said Sabourin, who has allowed only one shooter to score in three shootouts this season. “It’s something I added to my game.”
Malkin scored and set up Crosby’s tying goal as the Penguins, winning their fifth in a row, went into overtime for the eighth time in 16 games. They are 6-2 — 3-1 in shootouts.
Crosby tied it with 2:33 remaining in the third with his sixth goal and 18th in 22 career games against the Flyers, cutting toward the net from the left circle and scoring when Malkin got the puck out from behind the net.
Crosby and Malkin scored on bad-angle backhanders less than three minutes apart early in the second before the Flyers surged, only to lose their eighth in a row in Pittsburgh — including three Eastern Conference finals games last spring.
“It was 3-0 and we called a timeout,” coach John Stevens said. “Exactly what I said was, ‘We aren’t playing that bad.’ The three goals that they got we have almost given them. … The encouraging thing was we were able to come back against a good team.”
No matter, the Flyers took the loss harder than most so early in the season, keeping their dressing room door shut for an extended period.
“Late in the (third) period we were doing a lot of good things, and then one mistake against a team that’s very opportunistic, and it’s 4-4,” Richards said. “It’s a tough way to lose a game.”
Carter started the comeback at 7:46 of the second. Barely a minute later, Gagne cut through Goligoski and Malkin on a short-handed breakaway and, with Malkin draped on his shoulder, put a backhander past Fleury.
Gagne tied it at 3 slightly more than five minutes later with his 11th career short-handed goal and second of the period, and Lupul put the Flyers up by deflecting Timonen’s shot with four seconds left in the period. Lupul hadn’t scored in five games before getting his eighth goal in 14 career games against Pittsburgh.
Hookscenter.com wire report.