Wrapup

The Flyers continued their mastery on home ice this season, running their record at the Wachovia Center to 10-0-2 over the last dozen games. Philly survived a hairy third period to rescue a win that appeared on the brink of slipping away.

"I think last year maybe this is a game we’d lose," said John Stevens. " The team comes back. I just see a lot of guys who want to be on the ice, that want you to call their name, that think they can make a difference. I think a lot of our young guys have matured and we’ve got a really strong veteran presence that can kind of bring a sense of calm on our team in those situations.

"I think we deserved to win tonight. I thought we did a lot of good things even though the game got tied up late. I think that two points is going to be really important as we get on the road.”

Jeff Carter's line was utterly dominant tonight, and the Flyers got contributions from three different rookies in a game where the Mike Richards line was fairly quiet until the third period. The Flyers also added yet another powerplay tally to their league-leading attack, and scored another goal moments after the expiration of a powerplay.

Said Carter, "You don’t want to become a one line team or two line team. You need everyone down the stretch and we have that here. We have guys who can score on every line and it’s been good.”

Protecting third-period leads has been a problem at times this season for the Flyers. While Ottawa got some fortunate bounces, the Flyers got away from what got them the two-goal lead in the first place.

"We should have definitely shut it down there," said Scott Hartnell. "We weren’t getting pucks deep. We weren’t doing what we did in the first 40 minutes. I think we said on the bench lets get it going and lets get it done here before holiday break. Good things happen when you get the puck on the net and (Simon) Gagne did that and it was a big goal for us and we were able to hold on for the win.”

Notes:

* Three star selection was #3 Carter, #2 Heatley, #1 Hartnell.

* Luca Sbisa was reportedly late because he tried to use his new cell phone as an alarm and did not set it correctly. Martin Biron is feeling better and could be back in net next game.

* Randy Jones was charged with a game-high four giveaways tonight in his 17:25 of ice time but also had an assist and finished plus-one.

* Ex-Flyer captain Jason Smith logged 26:57 of ice time for Otttawa and blocked a game-high four shots.

3rd period synopsis: Flyers 6 - Sens 4

Nick Foligno goes down in a heap immediately after the drop of the first faceoff. It looked like he took an accidental high stick from Joffrey Lupul.

Niittymaki makes a tough stop on a Chris Kelly deflection to preserve the two-goal lead at about the 1:45 mark.

The Carter line applies extended pressure yet again in the Ottawa end, from about the 4:15 mark to 4:45.

Flyers 4 - Senators 3: The puck bounced around the defensive zone after an initial shot by Jason Spezza. Finally Dany Heatley puts home the puck to cut the deficit to one goal at 7:20.

Flyers 4 - Senators 4 At the 10:40 mark, Chris Phillips shot gets through traffic and beats Niittymaki to tie the game. Assists to Alfredsson and Heatley.

Flyers 5 - Sens 4: Simon Gagne (18th of the season) gets credited with the go-ahead goal as the Flyers get the puck in front.

Flyers 6 - Sens 4: Mike Richards seals the win with an empty netter at 19:50. Gagne gets the assist.

Shots were 8-6 for Ottawa (32-21 Flyers for the game). The Jeff Carter line generated 15 scoring chances for the Flyers. Third period faceoffs were 11-10 for Ottawa (Flyers won 32-31). Hits were 5-5 (Flyers led 25-18).

2nd period synopsis: Flyers 4 - Sens 2

Randy Jones goes off for tripping Jarkko Ruutu at 2:31. Ottawa gets a 1:41 long five-on-three after Braydon Coburn is called for tripping behind the net. The Sens cash in quickky.

Flyers 2 - Sens 2: From above circle, Daniel Alfredsson passes to Jason Spezza along the goal line. Spezza makes the cross-ice feed to Dany Heatley (16th of the year), who tucks in the puck at 2:58.

On the remaining 5-on-4 time, Jeff Carter gets past Schubert for a potential shorthanded scoring chance, but gets his feet taken out from under him. Schubert goes off for tripping at 4:05. With five seconds left on the powerplay, the Flyers turn it into a goal.

Flyers 3 - Senators 2: A shot by Braydon Coburn goes wide of the net and comes out the other side. Jeff Carter (26 th of the season) claims it and puts it home. Scott Hartnell draws the other assist at the 6:00 mark.

Carter narrowly misses another goal in close. Joffrey Lupul can't quite get a handle on the loose puck to put in the net.

Flyers 4 - Senators 2: Congratulations to Andreas Nodl for scoring his first NHL goal. At the 7:56 mark, Nodl deflects home a Kimmo Timonen shot. Darroll Powe gets the secondary helper.

Second period shots were 10 for the Flyers and 8 for the Senators (Flyers lead 26-13 through two periods). Jeff Carter has had eight scoring chances, Joffrey Lupul three. Faceoffs were 13-12 for Ottawa (Flyers lead 22-20). Hits were 9-4 in the Flyers' favor (Flyers lead 20-13).

1st period synopsis: Flyers 2 - Sens 1

At the 48 second mark, Anton Volchenkov crashes awkwardly into the boards as he loses an edge while trying to check Jeff Carter.

At the 3:00 mark, Jeff Carter makes a powerful backhanded pass to Joffrey Lupul for a scoring chance on a slow-developing 2-on-1. Lupul shoots wide of the net. Moments later, the Flyers get another 2-on-1. Arron Asham shoots from the right circle and is stopped by Alex Auld.

Sens 1 - Flyers 0: At the 5:01 mark, Nick Foligno (5th goal of the season) is stopped in close by Antero Niittymaki but continues to jab at the puck, forcing it over the line. Assist to Chris Kelly.

The Jeff Carter line responds with a strong shift after the Ottawa goal. The Philadelphia forecheck pins Ottawa in deep and forces a couple of turnovers.

Flyers 1 - Sens 1: Win an offensive zone faceoff and good things can happen. A point shot by Matt Carle (3rd of the season) snakes its way past Auld after Josh Gratton gets a Jonathon Kalinski faceoff win back to Carle at 6:33.

Scott Hartnell lands a solid open ice hit on Foligno in the offensive zone at the 7:15 mark.

Ossi Vaaananen throws a crunching bodycheck at the blueline at about the 13:00 mark.

Schubert goes off for hooking at 16:25. The Flyers pressure hard on the powerplay (Jeff Carter had three scoring chances) and finally connect after the expiration of the penalty.

Flyers 2 - Senators 1: At the 18:31 mark, Joffrey Lupul (13th of the season) tips in a puck from the crease after Scott Hartnell threw the puck at the net from a severe angle along the boards. Randy Jones get the secondary assist.

Shots were 16-5 in the Flyers favor. Jeff Carter led the way in the scoring chance department with five. Faceoffs were 10-7 in the Flyers' favor. Hits were 11-9 in the Flyers' favor. Ottawa had six giveaways to five by the Flyers.

Carter narrowly misses his second goal of the game, and Joffrey Lupul can't quite tuck home the rebound.

Flyers 4 - Senators 2: Congratulations to Andreas Nodl for scoring his first NHL goal. At the 7:56 mark, Nodl is stationed in the slot and deflects home a Kimmo Timonen shot from the point. Darroll Powe gets the secondary assist.



Update 6:15 PM

Luca Sbisa was a healthy scratch for being late. Andrew Alberts remains in the lineup. With the recall of Andreas Nodl, Lasse Kukkonen will sit rather than be dressed as a forward.


Abbreviated preview (4:00 PM EST)

The Flyers (18-8-7) have been on a tear on home ice of late. Tonight marks the final game at the Wachovia Center for 2008 as Philadelphia takes on an Ottawa Senators (12-14-5) team that has struggled badly on the road this season. The Sens have a 3-8-2 mark away from Ottawa.

Philadelphia needs to get off to better starts than they have in many recent games. The Flyers have given up the game's first goal in four of their last six games. One of the two games where Philly scored first was the Washington game where Antero Niittymäki was the sole reason the Flyers didn't get blown out early. Although the Flyers have a 4-1-1 record in the last six games, sooner or later playing from behind catches up to a team.

Scott Hartnell shoots wide of the net on a delayed penalty call at 16:25. Schubert goes off for hooking. The Flyers put on a flurry of chances (Jeff Carter has a pair) and finally score after the powerplay expires.

Flyers 2- Sens 1: Hartnell fires a shot on goal from a severe angle along the boards. Joffrey Lupul (13th of the season) tips the puck in from the crease. Randy Jones get the other assist at 18:31.


Team comparisons

EVEN STRENGTH

5-on-5
Flyers 56 GF - 59 GA
Sens 39 GF - 48 GA

4-on-4
Flyers 5 GF - 9 GA
Sens 4 GF - 2 GA


SPECIAL TEAMS

Penalties per game
Flyers 28th NHL (3rd most penalized team)
Sens 16th NHL

Flyers powerplay
Overall - 27.6% (1st NHL)
Home - 35.4% (2nd NHL)
0 Shorthanded goals allowed

Senators penalty kill
Overall - 81.6% (13rd NHL)
Road - 80.0% (18th NHL)
3 Shorthanded goals scored

Senators powerplay
Overall - 17.8% (19th NHL)
Road - 13.7% (27th NHL)
3 Shorthanded goal allowed

Flyers penalty kill
Overall - 84.0% (7th NHL)
Home - 83.9% (12th NHL)
13 shorthanded goals scored

Scoring First
Flyers 14-1-4
Sens 11-4-4

Opponent Scoring First
Flyers 4-7-3
Sens 1-10-1


Goals by period

1st period
Flyers 30 GF - 30 GA
Sens 19 GF - 21 GA

2nd period
Flyers 42 GF - 37 GA
Sens 29 GF - 25 GA

3rd period
Flyers 38 GF - 26 GA
Sens 22 GF - 32 GA

OT
Flyers 5 GF - 4 GA
Sens 2 GF - 2 GA


POTENTIAL LINEUPS (subject to change)

Flyers

Gagne - Richards - Knuble
Hartnell - Carter - Lupul
Powe - Metropolit/Kalinski - Asham
Cote - Powe/Kalinski/Kukkonen - Gratton

Timonen - Väänänen
Coburn - Carle
Jones - Sbisa

Biron/Niittymäki



Contact Bill at [email protected]