by Bob Herpen
The Phanatic Magazine
Danny Briere's tally with 1:08 left in overtime lifted the Philadelphia Flyers to a 6-5 decision over the Washington Capitals at Wachovia Center.
Briere worked through checking in front of the Washington crease, finding the
rebound of a Kimmo Timonen point shot and lifting it under the crossbar for
the game-winner.
Mike Richards posted his second career hat trick for the Flyers, who have won
the first three games in a season for the first time since 1998-99.
Matt Carle posted four assists, Scott Hartnell tallied the game-tying score
late in regulation and Ray Emery made 31 stops for Philadelphia, which won its
home opener in thrilling fashion.
The victory was bittersweet as it was revealed following the game that forward
Blair Betts suffered a dislocated right shoulder and will miss a month. In
addition, James vanRiemsdyk left the game briefly in the second period but
returned despite absorbing a hard hit to his upper body along the boards. He
will be evaluated later this week.
Alexander Semin and Alex Ovechkin each posted a pair of goals for the
Capitals, who failed in their bid to start a season with three consecutive
wins for the second time in three years.
Jose Theodore played nearly 30 minutes and suffered the loss after allowing
two goals on 16 shots. Starter Semyon Varlamov was pulled after yielding four
goals on 25 shots just after the midway point of regulation.
Semin's turn-around shot from the left circle changed direction for a Caps
power play goal and 4-4 contest 8:18 into the third period.
Brendan Morrison was credited with Washington's controversial go-ahead goal at
9:32.
Matt Bradley's initial shot was kicked out by Emery but the puck caromed off
Morrison's back skate as he tried to stop in the crease. Even though the disc
did not hit any part of his stick, the goal was allowed upon a review since it
was determined that no distinct kicking motion occurred.
Hartnell, though, managed to sweep a puck past Theodore and a defenseman over
the goal line from the slot with 4:15 remaining for a man-advantage score and
5-5 tie.
Following a scoreless first period, the Flyers hit the scoreboard 1:17 into
the second as Carle faked a shot from the left point and dished down low for
Richards, who hit the net from a sharp angle on the right wing.
Ovechkin converted a shot off a 2-on-1 rush at 2:44 to tie the score, but on a
delayed penalty call Timonen hit the top corner inside the right post at 4:33.
Ovechkin beat Emery with a backhander for a 2-2 game exactly three minutes
later, and Semin danced through a pair of Philly defenders for a 3-2
Washington lead with 7:34 to play in the second.
Richards beat Varlamov through traffic from the right circle with a low shot
off the left pipe less than two minutes later for a 3-3 deadlock, then
finished off his hat trick 18 seconds later to put the Flyers back on top.
Notes: Briere got the game-winner on his 32nd birthday...Richards' lone previous
three-goal game occurred on February 8, 2006 against the New York
Islanders...It was also the earliest Flyers hat trick in franchise history in
terms of date and number of games played...John LeClair previously held the
mark during his trifecta on October 11, 1997 at Montreal, in the Flyers' sixth
game that season...Carle's assists all came in the second period, setting a
Flyers franchise mark for defenseman and tying the NHL record set by LA's Rob
Blake on January 29, 1998...Washington had won five of six meetings in
Philadelphia since the start of the 2006-07 season...Ovechkin notched his 46th
career multi-goal game and second in three games this season. He leads the NHL
with five goals and nine points...Timonen's goal was his first since December
4, 2008 against the Devils.
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