| Posted 5-16-08
Flyers Tally
Three Early, Hang on to Force Game 5
Final Score:
Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 2
Philadelphia, PA (Sports
Network) - Martin Biron made 36 saves to help the Philadelphia Flyers
to a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, avoiding elimination in Game
4 of the Eastern Conference finals at the Wachovia Center.
Joffrey Lupul scored
twice while Danny Briere and Jeff Carter each scored for the Flyers, who
forced a Game 5, which will take place in Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon.
Scott Hartnell had three assists in the game.
"Tonight's win
gives us confidence and it's defniitely something to build off of,"
said Philadelphia forward Mike Richards. "Momentum is such a big
thing in the playoffs. We will be going to Pittsburgh and maybe we can
squeak out a win there."
Philadelphia is looking
to become just the third team to come back from a 3-0 postseason series
deficit. The New York Islanders achieved the feat in the 1975 quarterfinals
against the Penguins and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs recovered from an
0-3 hole to defeat Detroit in the Stanley Cup finals.
"Every line stepped
up and played equally well," said Flyers forward Scottie Upshall.
"Our guys that needed to hit went out and hit and we had some big
guys stepping up on defense."
Jordan Staal scored
both goals while Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves for the Penguins, who
are looking to advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since
1992.
The Flyers came storming
out of the gates in the first period and took the play to Pittsburgh.
Philadelphia took
a 1-0 lead at the 8:27 mark of the opening frame as Lupul blasted a slap
shot from the right circle that tipped off a Penguin stick and sailed
over the left shoulder of Fleury.
The Flyers then scored
a pair of power play goals to take a 3-0 lead into the second period.
With Sergei Gonchar
in the box, Randy Jones blasted a shot from the high slot that Fleury
stopped. However, Briere was behind the defense and swept in the rebound
from down low with 8:12 left in the frame.
Towards the end of
the frame, R.J. Umberger fired a shot from the right point that made it
through a screen, but was stopped by Fleury. Carter, though, dug out the
puck and backhanded it into the net with 1:10 left in the period.
Neither side got a
puck into the net in the second period as Biron, who made 13 saves in
the first period, stopped all 12 shots he saw in the second while Fleury
turned aside nine.
Pittsburgh got on
the board at the 3:16 mark of the third period as Tyler Kennedy fired
a shot that hit the outside of the net, but Staal was there to bang the
puck into the net from the low left side to make it a 3-1 game.
Staal made it a one-goal
game with 5:49 to play as he one-timed a Kennedy pass from the left circle
that beat Biron cleanly.
However, the Penguins
were unable to get any more through and Lupul's empty- netter sealed the
win.
Game Notes
Philadelphia defenseman
Braydon Coburn and Pittsburgh forward Gary Roberts both missed the game.
Coburn took a puck to the face early in Game 2, and has not played since
leaving the ice at Mellon Arena. Roberts, who has been in and out of the
lineup this postseason, missed his second straight game due to a mild
case of pneumonia...The Flyers are 3-0 all-time in playoff series against
the Penguins with the most recent meeting coming in the 2000 conference
semifinals...This was the first time the Flyers won a Game 4 when being
down three games to none...Philadelphia went 2-for-4 on the power play,
while Pittsburgh finished 0-for-3...Three of the four games in the series
have been decided by a score of 4-2.
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