| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Not even Jaromir Jagr's return could save the
Pittsburgh Penguins in a series where the Philadelphia Flyers made
the biggest comeback of all.
Mark Recchi and John LeClair set up each other for goals and the
Flyers, winning for the third time in a week in a rink where they
once rarely won, eliminated the Penguins 2-1 Tuesday night in the
Eastern Conference semifinals.
|  | | Flyers goalie Brian Boucher celebrates the victory with Luke
Richardson. |
The Flyers went 3-0 in Pittsburgh -- they are 4-1 on the road in
the playoffs -- to win 4-2 in a best-of-seven series that saw the
home team win only once. They are the 13th NHL team to win a series
after falling behind 2-0 at home.
"It says a lot about this team that we were down 2-0 and we
came back to win three in their building," LeClair said.
The Flyers had won only two of their previous 15 games in
Pittsburgh before the series turned dramatically as Philadelphia
won twice in overtime in three nights, including last week's suspenseful 2-1, five-overtime decision.
"When we won Game 3 in overtime, that was the big thing,"
LeClair said. "Then when we won that game in five overtimes ..."
With rookie defenseman Andy Delmore scoring five goals -- as many
as Jagr -- and Recchi adding two goals and five assists in the final
two games, the Flyers move on to the conference finals against
Atlantic Division rival New Jersey, starting at home on Sunday.
"We thought we were going to sweep them when it was 2-0,"
Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparaitis said. "The momentum was on
our side, history was on our side and then we let it get away."
The Penguins, rescued from bankruptcy by retired star Mario
Lemieux a day before training camp began, were eliminated in Game 6
of the second round for the second consecutive season despite
opening the series with their first two victories at Philadelphia
in six years.
The Flyers' toughness and size -- and rookie goalie Brian
Boucher's unflappable play -- and the two overtimes wore down the
Penguins' largely European lineup after the Penguins outscored the
Flyers 6-1 in the first two games.
"He (Boucher) might have gotten overlooked a little bit, but I
thought he was our MVP," defenseman Luke Richardson said.
The Penguins, who had never before lost every home game in a
playoff series lasting as many as six games, got a boost Tuesday
from the return of Jagr, who was limited by a thigh injury to a
couple of shifts in Sunday's 6-3 loss.
But Jagr, held scoreless in the final three games after scoring
five goals in the first three, couldn't find the net on a couple of
good, early scoring chances. The Flyers, who lost center Keith
Primeau following a midice collision with Penguins defenseman Bob
Boughner in the opening minute, also got a big lift by killing off
a pair of early Penguins power plays.
"I think maybe we thought it was going to be easy after it was
2-0," Jagr said. "Losing that (third) game in overtime was tough.
If we win either of the overtime games, we're up 3-1. It's not
going to hit us for three or four days what happened to us."
Several Penguins said the turning point wasn't the five-overtime
game, but when the Penguins squandered Jagr's two goals and an
assist in the 4-3 loss in Game 3.
"We could have put the nails in the coffin then and we didn't
do it," forward Matthew Barnaby said.
Boughner said, "That was a terrible waste."
He could have been referring to a Penguins power play that was
0-for-3 Tuesday, 0-for-12 while losing the final four games and
2-for-27 in the series.
By contrast, the Flyers got the critical first goal on a power
play with the Penguins' Jiri Slegr off for interfering with Rick
Tocchet.
Eric Desjardins' shot deflected off LeClair's skate in front of
the net to Recchi, who steered it by goalie Ron Tugnutt at 11:04 of
the first. It was Recchi's second goal in two games after being
held to one goal in the first nine playoff games.
The same Flyers line made it 2-0 in the first minute of the
second period as Recchi, the NHL's regular season assist leader,
grabbed a rebound of Desjardins' shot, faked a wrap-around, then
found an open LeClair at the side of the net for his sixth goal.
"That was the turning point," said Herb Brooks, who likely
coached his final game with the Penguins. He is to be replaced by
former Czech Republic coach Ivan Hlinka next season.
Richardson said, "After that, they looked really frustrated."
Desjardins, Delmore and Dan McGillis, the Flyers' top three
defensemen, have a combined eight goals and 13 assists in 11
playoff games. Desjardins was particularly effective late in the
series after being on the ice for seven of the Penguins' first
eight goals.
The Flyers made the 2-0 lead stand up until Penguins forward
Rene Corbet, a late-season pickup who hadn't scored in 15 games,
scored at 10:46 of the third after Rob Brown grabbed a loose puck
in the left circle.
Boucher withstood a flurry of Penguins scoring chances down the
stretch and finished with 27 saves. Boucher turned aside 113 of the
Penguins' final 118 shots in the series.
Primeau was carried off the ice on a stretcher after being run
over by Boughner. Before the game, Boughner promised retaliation
for being slammed in the chest by a Richardson slap shot in Game 5.
Seconds after a faceoff, Boughner skated across the neutral zone
from along the right wing boards and leveled Primeau, who was
skating up ice with his head down. Primeau was hospitalized overnight
for precautionary reasons, but X-rays were negative. He was
discharged from UPMC Presbyterian University Hospital on Wednesday.
| |
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Philadelphia Clubhouse
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Flyers' Primeau uncertain for Eastern Conference finals
NHL busts Barnaby for $27,000 in fines
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Keith Primeau is injured after colliding with the Penguins' Bob Boughner.
avi: 1210 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
A power play goal from Mark Recchi puts the Flyers ahead.
avi: 934 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Mark Recchi sets up John Leclair for the game-winner.
avi: 950 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
The Pens' Rene Corbet cuts the lead in half.
avi: 868 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
So close. Simon Gagne's shot hits the post.
avi: 914 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Pens' coach Herb Brooks gives credit to the Flyers.
wav: 145 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Flyers' defenseman Luke Richardson did not want a Game 7 showdown.
wav: 156 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Goalie Brian Boucher talks about Pittsburgh's rally late in the game.
wav: 141 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
