Lupul, Biron star as Flyers stop Predators

Joffrey Lupul tallied twice to lead Philadelphia over Nashville, 4-1, at Wachovia Center.

Mike Richards and Claude Giroux also provided scores for the Flyers, who
rebounded from Thursday's 5-1 loss to Calgary and have won two of their last
three.

Martin Biron was solid in net, making 31 stops to record his 20th win of the
season.

Martin Erat had the lone goal for the Predators, whose six-game win streak
came to a halt.

Pekka Rinne allowed four goals on 26 shots in the loss, his first in
regulation since February 16. The Finnish rookie also had a personal six-start
win streak snapped.

In a scoreless first period, Biron kept the Preds off the board with a
highlight-quality save.

Shea Weber's blast from the right circle was stopped but the rebound
went right to an open Erat on the left wing. His one-timer was headed for the
back of the net, except that Biron, late to shift across the crease, stuck out
his stick and stopped the puck right on the goal line.

Richards put the Flyers on the board with a power-play goal 45 seconds into
the second period, stashing home a cross-ice feed by Simon Gagne.

Jeff Carter and Randy Jones started a 3-on-1 break which Lupul finished off
with a tip at the right post at 4:22 and it was 2-0 for Philadelphia.

Biron was at his sharpest in the middle 20 minutes, stopping all 18 shots he
faced and thwarting a pair of Predators power plays.

Erat slipped a wrister between Biron's arm and body at 7:45 of the third
period to halve Nashville's deficit, but Lupul followed up a Daniel Carcillo
shot from in close to restore the two-goal edge at 8:51.

Arron Asham set up Giroux for the clincher with 3:13 left in the contest.

Game Notes

The Preds had won three of the last five meetings, and the Flyers hadn't
posted a victory since a 5-2 decision on March 3, 2004...Flyers forward Danny
Briere was not in the lineup after tweaking a previous groin injury
on Thursday...Lupul's goals gave him 20 for the season, the sixth Flyer to
reach that plateau this season...Biron hit the 20-win mark for the second
straight year and for the fifth time in his career...Carcillo's assist was
his first point as a Flyer, after his acquisition on Wednesday from Phoenix.