Mike Knuble notched a pair of goals late in regulation as the Philadelphia Flyers wasted a three-goal lead but recovered to top Atlanta, 5-3, at Wachovia Center.
Scott Hartnell, Darroll Powe and Randy Jones also tallied for the Flyers (25-12-9), who hit the All-Star break having won four of six overall and extended their win streak against Atlanta to 13 in a row since November 2005.
Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne picked up two assists each and Antero Niittymaki made 28 saves for the victory, extending his personal record against Atlanta to 12-0.
Eric Perrin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Chris Thorburn scored third-period goals for the Thrashers (17-26-5), who head to the break with their season-best three- game winning streak snapped.
Kari Lehtonen allowed four goals on 32 shots in the loss.
Perrin's turnaround blast from the left circle made it a 3-1 game at the 4:42 mark of the third period, and Kovalchuk snuck a wrister inside the left post with 10:12 remaining in regulation to bring the Thrashers within a goal.
Only 61 seconds later, Thorburn scored on a breakaway to knot the game, 3-3, and Flyers head coach John Stevens called a timeout, during which he berated his club for losing a solid three-goal edge.
The move paid off, as Knuble scored off his own rebound with 7:48 to play to give Philly a one-goal lead, then added an empty-net goal with 41 seconds left to seal the win.
Niittymaki was sharp in the early going, foiling Colby Armstrong's breakaway with a right pad stop during a Thrashers power play.
Hartnell put the Flyers on the board at 9:54, taking Carter's muted shot from the left boards and sliding the puck around Lehtonen from the top of the crease.
It was 2-0 for the home team with 2:05 left in the first, as Scottie Upshall sent a slick lead pass for Powe, who lifted a backhander under the crossbar while falling forward.
Jones followed up a Carter shot that went high and wide of the net and slipped a backhander inside the left post for a 3-0 Flyers lead 1:44 into the second period.
Game Notes
The Flyers improved to 3-0 this year against the Thrashers, outscoring them by a 16-6 margin. The clubs play one final time, in Atlanta, on February 8...Knuble has four multi-goal games this season, the last coming on December 13, a 6-3 win over Pittsburgh...Lehtonen fell to 0-8-1 lifetime against the Flyers...Prior to the game, the Flyers announced that forward Danny Briere, originally believed to be ready to return from a groin injury, will have exploratory surgery on Thursday and will need two weeks to recover...Philly has won 16 of its last 17 games against Atlanta, including 10 of 11 at home...The Flyers resume their schedule next Tuesday at Florida, and the Thrashers head to Dallas also next Tuesday.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment