Bryzgalov sets milestone as Flyers slip by Senators

Philadelphia, PA -- Ilya Bryzgalov posted 33 saves to record his 200th career victory, and Wayne Simmonds netted the deciding goal in the second period to lift the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

In typical stoic fashion, the Russian netminder said he felt "great" about reaching that mark. He improved to 44-25-8 in the regular season since his acquisition from Phoenix two Summers ago. 

Simmonds was more effusive in his praise: “I think he has been playing well all season. So, he stole a couple for us already this year, and tonight was another one. He got his confidence back. You can tell when a goalie has his confidence nothing really fazes him. He’s calm in the crease. He’s observing pucks and he’s playing really well.” 

Jakub Voracek tallied the initial goal for the Flyers, who have won two straight and three of four to reach .500 (11-11-1) for the first time this season.

"It's huge for us to get back to .500," said Voracek. "It's a good step and I think we are in the playoff spot now and we just have to keep winning."

Philadelphia had dropped its previous six games this season when attempting to break even, but this accomplishment will be severely tested in the upcoming week with games at New York, home against Pittsburgh and at Boston.

Marc Methot scored the lone goal of the game for the Senators, who have dropped their past two following a five-game winning streak. Ben Bishop stopped 39 shots in defeat.

Just past the midway mark of the first period, things took an interesting turn for the hosts, as forward Harry Zolnierczyk leveled Mike Lundin in the Flyers zone and was handed a charging major on the play along with a game misconduct.

Philadelphia, though, was able to survive the extended power play thanks in part to a too many men on the ice call to Ottawa during the midst of the advantage. Nonetheless, Zolniercyk faces a hearing with NHL Director of Player Safety, Brendan Shanahan, on Sunday for his actions.

The Flyers finally got through at the 7:24 mark of the second period for a 1-0 lead. Luke Schenn chipped the puck out of his zone and into the Ottawa end where Voracek picked it up along the right wing. Voracek then flew around a defender before snapping it in for his ninth of the season.

It was a 2-0 game four minutes later as Simmonds took a pass at the right circle and charged to the front before slipping a backhand between the pads of Bishop.

Ottawa, though, got one back with 5:49 to play in the middle stanza as Methot's slap shot from the left point beat Bryzgalov cleanly for his first goal of the season.

A cross-checking major to Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson in the third period along with a high-sticking call to Erik Condra gave the Flyers an extended 5-on-3, but they were unable to convert and provide some badly-needed insurance.

“Well it’s a bad play by him. Phillips is in a vulnerable position, right by the boards and he hits him from the side, behind kind of, and I didn’t really know if Chris was injured at the time or not, but I did not like that hit at all," said the 17-year veteran.

The franchise icon was responding to Philly's Zac Rinaldo leveling what he thought was a questionable hit on Chris Phillips that precipitated his own infraction.

"It was a chippy game, no question," said Alfredsson. "I think we took exception to some of their hits and felt like the referees didn't call everything that maybe they should have. We stuck up for each other and obviously my five minutes kind of hurt us in our chance to get back."

A penalty to Kimmo Timonen saw the Senators skate 6-on-4 after pulling Bishop for an extra attacker, but the Flyers blocked several shots in front of Bryzgalov and a couple of clears helped the team kill the rest of the clock.

Notes: The Flyers improved to 23-13-2 at home against the Senators since 1992, and have won eight of the last 11 meetings in Philadelphia...Voracek and Simmonds remained tied once again for the team lead in scores with nine apiece...Ottawa plays a road game on Sunday against the Islanders...Lundin, from the University of Maine, didn't return to play after the hit...Ottawa's power play was 3-for-38 over its previous 11 games coming in and went 0-for-5 on Saturday ... Philadelphia was also 0-for-5 on the power play but has killed off 61 of its last 66 short-handed situations in the last 16 games...These two teams split four games last season.

Sens steal point, dignity in matinee decision over Flyers

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

Jason Spezza notched the winner in the shootout, allowing Ottawa to escape with some dignity courtesy of a 4-3 victory over the Flyers in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon.

He provided the difference to end the second round, skating in full bore on Sergei Bobrovsky, then sliding a low, hard shot off the base of the right post and in.

Craig Anderson wrapped up the game by closing off the right post to squash Danny Briere's attempt.

It was a shame for the way Briere played, notching a pair of assists and turning his shifts in overtime into his own personal chess match with the Ottawa defense and Anderson. It was his rush between two players as time ticked down to less than a minute in the extra session, the latter of whom -- Filip Kuba -- committed a hooking infraction with 48.6 seconds to play, which allowed the hosts one last burst of energy to try and close out their conference rivals.

"As it got later, we had a ton of chances to win it. We could have scored four or five goals there in overtime," said a dour Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette. "It just didn't drop."

But Anderson held the fort as the Orange and Black buzzed around him, then watched as his forwards won the breakaway contest.

Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Neil tallied in regulation for the Sens, who looked foolish in squandering a 3-0 first-period lead but walked away with an extra point and took a four-point lead on eighth-place Washington.

Anderson, who had to hang on for dear life at times down the stretch, finished with 36 saves, while his counterpart Bobrovsky stopped 26 shots.

"Our team did a good job of being resilient and showing a little character and coming back," Senators coach Paul MacLean said.

Wayne Simmonds, Sean Couturier and Braydon Coburn found the net for the Flyers, who came to life over the final 40 minutes and stole a point which brought them within three of fourth-place Pittsburgh heading for a Sunday matinee showdown at CONSOL Energy Center.

While the opening 20 minutes painted a bleak picture which showed the Flyers hanging on for dear life down 3-0, the stats and the flow told a different story. Philly claimed a 15-12 edge in shots and had the best chances of the stanza.

Anderson was sharp to turn away Claude Giroux on a shorthanded breakaway roughly eight minutes in, as Matt Read sat for a tripping infraction, and then he stayed with the play as Jaromir Jagr fired two chances from in close during a 4-on-4 after Kuba was caught flipping the puck out of play following the Giroux opportunity.

It was after that when the wheels fell off.

Already ahead 1-0 thanks to an Alfredsson-to-Spezza connection, Ottawa tallied twice more, within a three-minute span, to take a commanding lead.

On the visitors' second goal, Erik Karlsson alertly dished to Alfredsson at the opposite point, and his blast appeared to deflect off a body in front and dip low inside the right post at the 11:39 mark.

Then, the only score of the game on Bobrovsky's ledger happened. Rob Klinkhammer intercepted a clearing attempt and sent the puck into the left corner. Neil picked it up, pivoted away from a checker, then fired from the top of the left circle. The puck trickled through between Bobrovsky's arm and body for a 3-0 game at 14:27.

Shocked to life, the hosts countered in the second period with three of their own.

It started just shy of the three-minute mark. Brayden Schenn deked his way into the Senators' zone before ripping a wrister from between the circles. The shot deflected up the stick of Ottawa defender Chris Phillips's stick, hit Simmonds in the face, and caromed in.

Schenn didn't even have time to celebrate before attending to his stricken teammate, who was taken to the locker room for evaluation. Simmonds, who netted his 26th of the year the hard way, needed seven stitches to close a gash that snaked above his right eyebrow down to the side of his nose.

"I saw it coming but there's not much I could do," said Simmonds, who wore a visor for his first three NHL seasons with the Kings but has not worn one yet this year. "I was just trying to take position for the shot and it was deflected off me."

The deficit was trimmed to one at 14:38 on another unexpected gift. Couturier blew by Sergei Gonchar on the left wing, cut in, and dribbled a shot through the crease, which rolled on edge to the right pipe and appeared to cross the goal line a fraction of a second ahead of Kuba lifting the net off its peg.

Though the score was initially waved off, a lengthy conference with the war room in Toronto was able to reverse the call, and it was 3-2.

Coburn produced the tying score, but it came thanks to good puck movement from Briere. Eric Wellwood gained control of the disc at the right point and fed ahead to Briere, who was able to move right onto the doorstep, waiting just long enough for his defenseman to sneak in. Anderson got his glove on the shot, but it still rolled over the goal line with 5:22 remaining in the second.

The comeback was desperately needed, as Kyle Turris was allowed to separate 30 feet ahead of the pack early in the third before being turned away by Bobrovsky. It was one of just five third-period Senators shots in a plodding final period which saw nine combined shots.

Two of the other four came with 1:20 remaining, when Spezza faced a half-open net only to push the puck into Bobrovsky's right pad twice in a row.

"We deserved a lot better than being down 3-0. For us, it was about sticking to the plan and things were going to fall into place," Briere said. "After making that comeback for the whole second period, we sat back too much in the third period. It's something in our game I'd like to find a way to change."

In the shootout, Read opened up by non-chalantly put one by Anderson, but Giroux tried to turn his back completely away from Anderson before lifting his chance well over the net.

Notes: Ottawa improved to 6-4 in the shootout and Philadelphia fell to 4-7 this season...Coming, in the Flyers had won seven of their last nine home games against Ottawa since January of 2008...The clubs split the four-game season series with both teams winning once at home and once on the road...Philly claimed a 17-14 goal differential...Pelle Eklund (1985-94), drafted by the Flyers in 1983, was in attendance...The Orange and Black fell to 5-10-3 this season in games starting before 7 PM...Couturier snapped an eight-game goal drought...After not scoring since March 4, Neil has notched goals in back-to-back games for the first time since January 8-10...Briere has nine points (2G, 7A) in the last four games...Alfredsson's two-point effort gave him 46 points (15G, 31A) in 52 career games against Philadelphia.

Third-period collapse helps Sens get by Flyers

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

On Saturday, Danny Briere was there to rescue the Flyers from another potentially wasted effort. Just over 24 hours later North of the Border, neither he nor the Orange and Black defense could do the job.

Filip Kuba notched the game-winner with just over one minute left in regulation, as Ottawa used a four-goal third-period burst to down Philadelphia, 6-4, in the back end of a home-and-home set from Scotiabank Place.

Daniel Alfredsson, Chris Neil, Erik Karlsson and Nick Foligno totaled a goal and assist each for the Senators, who have won five of six and bounced back from an overtime loss in Philly on Saturday afternoon.

Craig Anderson -- who played well yesterday save for the final shot of the contest -- stopped 33 shots for the victory.

Matt Read, Sean Couturier, Marc-Andre Bourdon and Andrej Meszaros scored for the Flyers, whose win streak was halted at two games.

Ilya Bryzgalov was tagged for five goals on 37 shots in defeat.

Ottawa climbed within 4-3 as a Colin Greening pass to the slot changed direction off Flyers defenseman Matt Carle's stick and crossed the goal line at 3:11 of the third, and Karlsson beat Bryzgalov through the pads on a 3-on-1 rush to tie the game at 6:19.

On the lead tally, Erik Condra won a battle behind the Philadelphia net and dished back to the left point, where Kuba's drive deflected off Scott Hartnell's stick and found its way into the back of the net with 1:11 remaining.

Foligno hit the empty net with 45 seconds left to provide the final margin.

It was a rare black mark on a defense which has been solid despite the absence of Chris Pronger. Philadelphia lost for just the second time this season in regulation when leading after two periods (19-2-1) and lost for just the second time all year when leading after one (15-1-1).

Alfredsson's wrister from the high slot gave the Sens a 1-0 lead just 54 seconds after the opening faceoff, but Meszaros ripped one home from the blue line at 2:32.

Ottawa took a 2-1 edge at 8:25 when a lengthy review determined that Neil's poke through massive traffic inside the Philly crease managed to cross the goal line before caroming off Bryzgalov's arm and back into play.

Bourdon's floater from the right point with 4:28 remaining sailed by a Jakub Voracek screen and pulled the Flyers even, and Couturier ripped a wrister past Anderson from the right circle 28 seconds later for a 3-2 game.

Bryzgalov stoned Zack Smith on a short-handed break in the final 90 seconds and it remained a one-goal edge for the visitors after one period.

Though failing on a brief 5-on-3 power play late in the second period, the Flyers went up 4-2 on the following one-man edge as James van Riemsdyk fired from the point and Read slammed in the rebound with 5:52 remaining.

Notes: Ottawa has won 11 of its last 13 home games against Philadelphia since February of 2006...Alfredsson picked up his ninth multi-point effort this season...Meszaros played in his 500th career game...Couturier hadn't scored since November 5, a span of 22 games...Karlsson finished with a game- best plus-five, while Carle wound up with a game-worst minus-4...Read tied Edmonton's Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for the rookie goal lead (13) on his second- period score.

Briere does it all: Hat trick, fight stokes 3-2 OT win over Senators

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

When it was all over, all you could hear was the roar of the crowd giving way to a torrent of voices all chanting one name in unison.

It drowned out the normal post-game interview the star of the game does with Coatesy. It drowned out the inner thoughts of the sellout crowd on Saturday afternoon. The cheer was so loud, for so long that it managed to push all thoughts of the Winter Classic loss and the defensive breakdowns on Thursday against Chicago out of mind.

At the center of it all was Daniel Briere, who picked up his fifth career hat trick on a wraparound goal with 5.3 seconds remaining in overtime, lifting the Philadelphia Flyers to a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

In addition to the trifecta of tallies, the diminutive 34-year-old went toe-to-toe with the bigger Kyle Turris late in the second period to settle a score begun minutes earlier when the pair jostled at center ice.

"He did a good job in the fight. It gave our bench a lift. It was not a good second period for us," admitted Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette. "You know, we ended up comin' out stormin' in the third period. We weren't able to crack a goal right away, but certainly, I think it gave us a lift. He had a monster game, really."

Not lost in the sudden ending at the tail end of sudden death was a 35-save performance by Ilya Bryzgalov, who got his second consecutive start -- and his second consecutive victory.

Milan Michalek and Billy Butler tallied for Ottawa, which did a much better job of competing than in a 7-2 home loss to Philly back on October 18 but still came up short.

Craig Anderson was no slouch despite picking up the loss, making good on 36-of-39 shots for the Sens, who have risen to fifth spot in the Eastern Conference.

It was poetic justice for Briere that he won a game nobody expected, less than a week after coming up short in a situation where many expected him to influence the outcome.

Only six days ago, choppy ice prevented Briere from making a move sufficient to fool Rangers goaltender Henrik Ludqvist on a penalty shot in the final 20 seconds of an eventual 3-2 defeat.

But as time ticked away in OT on Saturday afternoon, he earned redemption, beating Anderson to the right post as he moved around the Ottawa cage and slipped the deciding goal home through a small space.

His first goal came through luck and persistence as well, a score which gave the hosts an early advantage.

Jakub Voracek rolled down the right-wing side and pulled up shy of the circle, finding Briere for an open chance on the left side. Though the first shot was flubbed, the speed fooled Anderson and his defense, leaving Briere alone in front to push his 11th goal of the year home at 11:05 of the first.

Michalek picked up the lone score in the middle period, tapping in a Sergei Gonchar blast on the doorstep only seven seconds after Matt Carle was busted for tripping which created a 27-second 5-on-3 advantage.

Then, the fireworks.

Briere and Turris clashed near the faceoff dot at center with 3:44 remaining in the second, with the former drawing an interference call and the latter a cross-checking minor despite clear evidence that Briere, at the bottom of the pileup, had been wronged more.

Still, note had been made and it was only 20 seconds after the coincidental minors expired that both decided to drop the gloves to the wonderment of the 19,792 in attendance.

That Briere held his own and could have been given a victory in the bout is no stretch. It
instantly ignited the crowd, which unleashed its first call by name as soon as he retired to the penalty box once more.

It will be an interesting sidebar in the back end of this home-and-home set at Scotiabank Place on Sunday evening.

Nonetheless, attrition and time caught up to the Flyers, as they failed to add onto their lead thanks to hitting no fewer than four posts through two periods and came up empty on back-to-back Ottawa bench minors in the first six minutes of the third.

It was Butler -- who drew the short straw and had to serve both penalties -- who put the Sens ahead by a 2-1 count at the 6:43 mark, outmuscling a tired Flyers defense and slipping the rebound of an Erik Karlsson blast through Bryzgalov.

Briere rose to the challenge for a second time in the contest, when his work in front with Sens defenseman Chris Phillips was rewarded as he managed to get a piece of his stick on a Kimmo Timonen wrist shot at 9:12.

The power-play score came thanks to a veteran blueliner who, despite getting hit twice in the same spot on his wrist, managed to play a near flawless game in almost 26 minutes of ice time.

Notes: Briere has engaged in only three career fights, but has totaled six goals in those games...The Flyers improved to 22-11-3 all-time at home against the Senators...Mike Knuble was the last Flyer to record a hat trick and account for all his team's goals, in a 3-0 decision on February 2, 2008 against Anaheim...Timonen and Sens defenseman Jared Cowan led all players with 25:45 TOI...Scott Hartnell participated in his 800th career game...The final tally for the Alumni Game, Winter Classic and AHL Outdoor Classic was 138,428 fans.

Flyers crush hapless Sens; Read, rookies make their mark

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

On certain occasions, a blind prediction may have some grains of truth to it.

Such was the case of TSN's Bob McKenzie, who, when recently pressed for his Calder Trophy candidate, blurted out Philadelphia's Matt Read via Twitter.

Read repaid that trust in spades on Tuesday night, ending up with a career-best four points on a goal and three assists, as the Flyers snapped a seven-game losing streak in Ottawa stretching over nearly four years with a 7-2 decision over the hapless Senators.

Claude Giroux and Max Talbot added a goal and helper each for the Flyers, who earned their first win in Canada's capital since November 24, 2007.

Sean Couturier and Harry Zolniercyk registered their first NHL goals as Philadelphia opened up a season without a regulation loss in its first five games since going 3-0-2 to kick off Ken Hitchcock's first year at the helm in 2002-03.

Sergei Bobrovsky's first start of the year was a solid one, as the Russian halted 21-of-23 shots.

Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson scored for the Senators, who stumbled to their fifth loss in six contests.

Alex Auld was pulled after one period, giving up four goals on 10 shots to take the loss. Craig Anderson finished by allowing three scores on 20 shots.

Read put the Flyers on the board at the 6:20 mark of the opening period, when his sharp-angle chance from along the goal line on the right wing beat Auld under the crossbar.

Wayne Simmonds doubled the advantage on a power play at eight minutes even, lifting a loose puck over a goalmouth scramble from between the circles.

It was 3-0 for Philly at 16:17 on the front end of a four-minute advantage as Giroux ripped a shot from the right wing over Auld's opposite shoulder, and Talbot provided a four-goal margin with one minute left.

The visitors survived four Ottawa power plays, including a brief two-man edge, but couldn't finish the second period by maintaining a 4-0 lead.

Daniel Alfredsson -- the calm veteran captain in his 16th season -- fed Spezza for a tap-in at the right side of the crease with 61 seconds remaining.

James van Riemsdyk tipped in a point blast on a power play with 4:35 left in the contest, and Couturier deposited his initial score 36 seconds later for a 6-1 game.

Zolniercyk capped the Flyers scoring inside the final minute with a nifty deke of Anderson before chipping the disc up high on the backhand.

Karlsson blew a shot home with 20 ticks left to end another disappointing tilt for the Sens.

Notes: This was the most decisive win for the Flyers in Ottawa since a 7-2 final on
January 3, 1998...Philadelphia last tallied at least seven times on the road in a 7-4 victory at Los Angeles last December 30...Ottawa also gave up seven at home on October 13 in a 7-1 loss to Colorado...Prior to the contest, the Flyers recalled Zolniercyk from Adirondack of the AHL...Tuesday's win marked the first time since October 5, 2000 (6-3 win over Vancouver) that two Flyers rookies -- Justin Williams and Petr Hubacek -- notched their first NHL goals
in the same game ...On this date in 1984, Philadelphia tied a still-standing franchise record for goals in one game in a 13-2 demolition of Vancouver at the Spectrum.

Flyers stay hot with feisty win over Ottawa

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

Mike Richards tied a season high with four points on two goals and two assists, as the Philadelphia Flyers used a three- goal third period to break open a close game and defeat Ottawa, 6-2.

Danny Briere and Andrej Meszaros posted a goal and helper each for the Flyers, winners of four straight and eight of nine overall.

Scott Hartnell also tallied while Sergei Bobrovsky halted 25-of-27 shots for the victory.
Philadelphia opened up a five-point lead over Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference standings after the Penguins were shut out at New Jersey.

Milan Michalek and Nick Foligno found the net for the Senators, who have lost four straight and 10 of their last 11. Brian Elliott was shelled for all six goals on just 22 shots.

Hartnell put the Flyers ahead by a 4-2 count at 7:50 of the third, on his second-chance rebound from the right post. Briere created the chance by circling from behind the net to the left post before sliding a shot to the goal.

It was a three-goal edge for the home club more than three minutes later when Elliott kicked out a Richards shot, but James van Riemsdyk netted the rebound from the left wing.

Meszaros then collected his second tally in as many games on a power play to make it 6-2 for Philadelphia 80 seconds later.

With the Flyers holding such a safe lead, the Senators responded by trying to rekindle the spirit of old battles. First, Jeff Carter was induced to a one-on-one with Jesse Winchester -- Carter's first fight since December, 2007.

Then, In a two-second span with just under four minutes remaining in the contest, no fewer than four fights broke out. Claude Giroux dropped the gloves, as did Jody Shelley, Hartnell and Sean O'Donnell against Foligno, Chris Neil, Jarkko Ruutu and Matt Carkner.  Neil, Carkner, O'Donnell and Shelley all were given game misconducts.

Far from being a distraction, the fisticuffs only enhanced and put an exclamation point on the victory, which vaulted the Flyers above idle Vancouver atop the NHL standings.

The night started as well as it ended. Briere got on the board just after the two-minute mark when he wound up from the bottom of the right circle and scored under the crossbar.

Richards made it 2-0 at 4:14 when he glided through the slot to tip in a Braydon Coburn point shot.
Ottawa had a 5-on-3 advantage prior to the midway point of the second period, which was killed off by the home team. The Sens had a 5-on-4 goal waved off a short time later because Foligno's stick was above the crossbar when it made contact with the puck before the successful shot.

Philly went up 3-0 with 3:43 left in the second on a two-man advantage, when Richards faked a pass from the right circle and slid a shot through Elliott's pads, but Michalek's short-handed breakaway cut Ottawa's deficit back to two less than two minutes later.

Foligno then tapped in a rebound at the right post with 45.6 seconds to go and the visitors were down one heading to the final period.

Notes: Richards also picked up four points (1G, 3A) in a 7-4 win at Los Angeles on December 30...Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger returned to the lineup after missing 13 games with a broken right foot, and notched two assists with a plus-one in just over 20 minutes of ice time...Elliott has dropped 10 straight starts, dating back to a December 26 win over Pittsburgh...Philly has won six of its last eight home games over Ottawa...Although the third period took on a gritty feel, it was nowhere near the record-setting pace of March 5, 2004 between the clubs which finished with an NHL-record 419 penalty minutes...Both sides ended up with a mere 126, 69 of those to the Senators.