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| Biron, second-period flurry fuel Flyers past Canadiens PHILADELPHIA 3, MONTREAL 2 |
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PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Martin Biron continues to outplay his rookie counterpart. Biron made 32 saves and the Philadelphia Flyers scored three times in the second period before holding on for a 3-2 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday in Game Three of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Scottie Upshall and R.J. Umberger tallied and All-Star Mike Richards added a shorthanded goal for the sixth-seeded Flyers, who secured a two-games-to-one advantage in their best-of-seven series. Philadelphia hosts Game Four on Wednesday. Tomas Plekanec and captain Saku Koivu had power-play tallies 72 seconds apart in the third period for the top-seeded Canadiens, who enjoyed a 34-14 advantage in shots but were flustered by Biron. "When you're in the playoffs, it's not about how you feel, it's about getting the job done," Biron said. "You got to play every game like it's do or die." "Marty has been terrific. He has been our best player is the series and we probably felt going in that he would have to be," Flyers coach John Stevens said. "That win on the ice was a win on desperation - especially at the end there. We need to combine that desperation with better execution and it will make the job easier." Rookie Carey Price finished with nine saves in two periods before being relieved in favor of Jaroslav Halak for Montreal, which suffered just its second loss in 11 postseason contests all-time in the "City of the Brotherly Love". "He is 20 years old, you can't forget about that," Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau said of his netminder, who has surrendered seven goals on 35 shots in the last two contests. "We are trying to ask this kid to be a savior for our club. Carey is just one guy. He has proven in the past that he can bounce back really strong. We will sit down tonight and tomorrow and see what is going to happen in the next game." Biron, who often was Philadelphia's best player during its seven-game triumph over Washington in the conference quarterfinals, made several key stops in the first period to keep the game scoreless. After the Flyers failed to score on a power play, Koivu accepted a lead pass coming out of the penalty box and skated in on Biron. The captain attempted to shift from his backhand to his forehand but the netminder interrupted the sequence with a diving poke-check just over six minutes into the contest. Upshall opened the scoring 7:04 into the second period. After Joffrey Lupul carried the puck into the zone, he dropped it back to Upshall, who wristed a shot from outside the right faceoff circle past Price and just inside the left goalpost for his second tally of the postseason. Richards doubled the advantage with 4:48 remaining in the session. With his team shorthanded, Richards gained possession of the puck and skated through neutral ice before unleashing a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle which handcuffed Price. The puck slowly trickled behind the netminder and just inside the right post to give Philadelphia a 2-0 advantage. "I was creeping in the middle and I was able to pick it off and skate down the ice," Richards said. "I didn't turn the puck over, so I just put it on the net. Good things happen when you put it on the net." Umberger gave the Flyers a three-goal bulge just over three minutes later. After Jeff Carter was denied on a wrap-around attempt, the rebound was kicked out to the 25-year-old center, who buried the puck past Price for his fourth goal of the series and fifth of the postseason. "I got the puck in deep off the right side and 'Cartsy' and I were just battling for it," Umberger said. "I got it back behind the net and 'Cartsy' tried to stuff it. It went off the goalie's blocker and it just came right to me. I just one-timed it and it found a spot in the net." With everything seemingly going Philadelphia's way, veteran defenseman Derian Hatcher was whistled for a boarding penalty and a game misconduct just over five minutes into the third period. "The call is the call. I am not going to sit here and say anything, but I wish I didn't let up on him," Hatcher said of his hit on defenseman Francis Bouillon. "If I am going to get (a five-minute penalty), I might as well finish it (the hit). "Fortunately, we won the game and there were times I thought I was going to get sick, but we won the game and it worked out for our team." Montreal, which owned the NHL's top-ranked power play in the regular season, capitalized quickly. Plekanec put the Canadiens on the scoreboard 7:29 into the third period, poking home a rebound which just trickled across the goal line. Montreal kept the pressure on, culminating in Koivu's tally after cleaning up a rebound off All-Star Andrei Markov's blast from the left point. The Canadiens, however, were unable to net the equalizer. "When you outshoot them, 34-14, you've got to win the game," Montreal's Christopher Higgins said. "You don't know how much longer it's going to go with the chances we've had. I thought that in the third period, it seemed like we were in their zone the whole time, and we had control of the play. We couldn't get enough pucks in the net." "Our power play wasn't as sharp as we hoped it would be in the first two games," Koivu said. "In the third (period), we came back on the power play and we had some great chances to tie the game. Right now, we're being tested and we're not getting the final touch and the push to win the games." |
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