GAME THREAD: NHL: ATLANTA (0-5) at PHILADELPHIA (3-1)

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Martin Biron and a decisive secondperiod added to the Atlanta Thrashers' woes this season.

Biron stopped all 31 shots he faced and a three-goal secondperiod lifted the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-0 victory over thewinless Thrashers on Tuesday.


The 30-year-old goaltender posted his 19th career shutout andfirst of the season by stopping nine shots in the first period,10 in the second and 12 in the third. Biron's last shutout cameon April 18, 2006, when he blanked the Carolina Hurricanes,4-0, as a member of the Buffalo Sabres.


Biron's best save in this one came as the first period was aboutto expire. With Atlanta on its third power play, Eric Perrinwas poised to deposit a rebound into an open net. Biron - whostill was on the ice from the original shot - shifted his body,raised his glove and knocked the puck away.


Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Sami Kapanen and defenseman RandyJones scored for the Flyers, who are 22-3-4 all-time against theThrashers and have won seven straight meetings in the seriessince November 18, 2005.


Winners of its last three, Philadelphia has outscored itsopponents, 15-3, during that stretch.


As for Atlanta - which has been outscored, 27-9, this season -it is a far cry from last season's club that won afranchise-record 43 games en route to capturing the SoutheastDivision title.


Richards put the Flyers on the board just 81 seconds into thesecond period.


Daniel Briere came out from behind the net and took asharp-angle shot, which was stopped by goaltender Johan Hedberg.The rebound, however, came to Joffrey Lupul, who quicklybackhanded the puck across the goal mouth, setting up Richardsfor his third tally of the season.


Carter doubled the Flyers' advantage with his fourth goal in asmany games.


Carter wristed the puck from the top of the left faceoff circlethrough a screen set by Scott Hartnell. The puck deflected offAtlanta defenseman Niclas Havelid and found its way over theshoulder of Hedberg to give the Flyers a 2-0 bulge with justover seven minutes remaining in the period.


Kapanen capped the second-period barrage 34 seconds later.

After R.J. Umberger's initial blast was stopped by Hedberg, thepuck glided toward the bottom of the right circle. Kapanen, whohad a step on Perrin, shot it into the vacant net to givePhiladelphia a 3-0 lead.


Jones kept the pressure on in the third period, accepting abeautiful feed from Carter and depositing it over the leftshoulder of Hedberg to provide a 4-0 cushion.


Hedberg, who was drafted by the Flyers in 1994, finished with 29saves.


Marian Hossa, who missed Atlanta's last three games with a groininjury, hit the crossbar with 12 minutes remaining in the firstperiod. Hossa played just over 20 minutes and had four shotson goal.

 

NHL: ATLANTA at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Atlanta 0 0 0 --0
Philadelphia 0 3 1 --4
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: B Holik, Atl (holding), 0:29; J Smith, Phi
(hooking), 6:44; S Hartnell, Phi (hooking), 14:47; S Hartnell, Phi
(hooking), 19:06.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Philadelphia, Mike Richards 3 (Joffrey
Lupul, Daniel Briere), 1:21. 2, Philadelphia, Jeff Carter 4 (Scott
Hartnell, Joffrey Lupul), 12:56. 3, Philadelphia, Sami Kapanen 2 (R.J.
Umberger), 13:30. Penalties: I Kovalchuk, Atl (hooking), 10:40; R
Jones, Phi (hooking), 14:07; K Klee, Atl (hooking), 18:54.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Philadelphia, Randy Jones 1 (Jeff Carter),
8:09. Penalties: J Smith, Phi (holding stick), 14:31.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Atlanta 9 10 12 --31
Philadelphia 12 14 7 --33
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Atlanta - 0 of 5, Philadelphia - 0 of 3.
Goalies : Atlanta, Johan Hedberg (33 shots, 29 saves; record: 0-2-0).
Philadelphia, Martin Biron (31 shots, 31 saves; record: 4-1-0). A:
18,933. Referees: Dennis Larue, Kelly Sutherland. Linesmen: Ryan
Galloway, Thor Nelson.</div>

 

NHL: ATLANTA at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------
ATLANTA 0 0 0 --0
PHILADELPHIA 0 3 1 --4
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: B Holik, Atl (holding), 0:29; J Smith, Phi
(hooking), 6:44; S Hartnell, Phi (hooking), 14:47; S Hartnell, Phi
(hooking), 19:06.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Philadelphia, Mike Richards 3 (Joffrey
Lupul, Daniel Briere), 1:21. 2, Philadelphia, Jeff Carter 4 (Scott
Hartnell, Joffrey Lupul), 12:56. 3, Philadelphia, Sami Kapanen 2 (R.J.
Umberger), 13:30. Penalties: I Kovalchuk, Atl (hooking), 10:40; R
Jones, Phi (hooking), 14:07; K Klee, Atl (hooking), 18:54.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Philadelphia, Randy Jones 1 (Jeff Carter),
8:09. Penalties: J Smith, Phi (holding stick), 14:31.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
ATLANTA 9 10 12 --31
PHILADELPHIA 12 14 7 --33
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: ATL - 0 of 5, PHI - 0 of 3. Goalies : Atlanta,
Johan Hedberg (33 shots, 29 saves; record: 0-2-0). Philadelphia,
Martin Biron (31 shots, 31 saves; record: 4-1-0). A: 18,933.
Referees: Dennis Larue, Kelly Sutherland. Linesmen: Ryan Galloway,
Thor Nelson.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

ATLANTA PHILADELPHIA
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
B Little 0 0 even 4 J Dowd 0 0 +1 1
E Perrin 0 0 -2 2 S Gagne 0 0 even 3
T White 0 0 -1 0 S Ruzicka 0 0 even 0
V Kozlov 0 0 -3 1 J Lupul 0 2 +2 7
B Holik 0 0 -4 1 J Carter 1 1 +2 3
I Kovalchuk 0 0 -1 3 M Richards 1 0 +4 4
M Hossa 0 0 -2 4 S Hartnell 0 1 +2 1
G Exelby 0 0 -1 0 D Hatcher 0 0 +1 0
B Sterling 0 0 even 0 R Umberger 0 1 +1 4
K Klee 0 0 -1 4 J Smith 0 0 +1 0
J Slater 0 0 -1 2 M Knuble 0 0 even 2
N Havelid 0 0 -2 1 S Kapanen 1 0 +2 2
B Larsen 0 0 even 1 L Kukkonen 0 0 +1 2
D Haydar 0 0 even 0 R Cote 0 0 even 0
T Enstrom 0 0 -1 2 K Timonen 0 0 +1 3
S McCarthy 0 0 -1 3 D Briere 0 1 +1 0
A Zhitnik 0 0 -2 2 B Coburn 0 0 +2 0
P Dupuis 0 0 -1 1 R Jones 1 0 +2 1
E Boulton HEALTHY J Boulerice SUSPENDED NHL
M Popovic HEALTHY B Eager DIZZINESS
C Thorburn HEALTHY</div>

 

NHL: ATLANTA at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NHL
ATLANTA 0
PHILADELPHIA 4</div>

 

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Martin Biron and a decisive secondperiod added to the Atlanta Thrashers' woes this season.

Biron stopped all 31 shots he faced and a three-goal secondperiod lifted the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-0 victory over thewinless Thrashers on Tuesday.


The 30-year-old goaltender posted his 19th career shutout andfirst of the season by stopping nine shots in the first period,10 in the second and 12 in the third. Biron's last shutout cameon April 18, 2006, when he blanked the Carolina Hurricanes,4-0, as a member of the Buffalo Sabres.


"It felt like it was a long time ago," Biron said of his lastshutout. "You don't play for shutouts, but they're nice whenthey come."


Biron's best save in this one came as the first period was aboutto expire. With Atlanta on its third power play, Eric Perrinwas poised to deposit a rebound into an open net. Biron - whostill was on the ice from the original shot - shifted his body,raised his glove and knocked the puck away.


"I'm not sure how he did what he did, but he did it and I'mhappy to see it," Flyers coach John Stevens said. "He looksreally confident in goal right now."


Biron also had some help from his defense.


"(After) I got the glove on the puck," Biron said, "I turnedaround and there was a guy in the slot with a wide-open net. Isaw Gator (Jason Smith) block the shot when I had my back turnedon the play."


Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Sami Kapanen and defenseman RandyJones scored for the Flyers, who are 22-3-4 all-time against theThrashers and have won seven straight meetings in the seriessince November 18, 2005.


"We had some success against them last year," Carter said. "Iguess it carried over to tonight, and we played a solid game."

Winners of its last three, Philadelphia has outscored itsopponents, 15-3, during that stretch.


As for Atlanta - which has been outscored, 27-9, this season -it is a far cry from last season's club that won afranchise-record 43 games en route to capturing the SoutheastDivision title.


Thrashers coach Bob Hartley preached patience for his strugglingteam.


"The last thing those boys need is for me to be hard on them,"Hartley said. "We have to find solutions. We have young peopleand lots of new faces. We're going to turn things around."

Richards put the Flyers on the board just 81 seconds into thesecond period.


Daniel Briere came out from behind the net and took asharp-angle shot, which was stopped by goaltender Johan Hedberg.The rebound, however, came to Joffrey Lupul, who quicklybackhanded the puck across the goal mouth, setting up Richardsfor his third tally of the season.


"I feel like I'm contributing to the team a little more thisyear," Richards said. "It's fun coming to the rink every daywhen you're playing like this and you are full of confidence."

Carter doubled the Flyers' advantage with his fourth goal in asmany games.


Carter wristed the puck from the top of the left faceoff circlethrough a screen set by Scott Hartnell. The puck deflected offAtlanta defenseman Niclas Havelid and found its way over theshoulder of Hedberg to give the Flyers a 2-0 bulge with justover seven minutes remaining in the period.


"I try to do the same thing," Carter said. "You get some goodbounces in the right place in the right time."


Kapanen capped the second-period barrage 34 seconds later.

After R.J. Umberger's initial blast was stopped by Hedberg, thepuck glided toward the bottom of the right circle. Kapanen, whohad a step on Perrin, shot it into the vacant net to givePhiladelphia a 3-0 lead.


In the first five games of the season, the Flyers have outscoredthe opposition, 11-5, in the second period.


"It's been good lately," Carter said of Philadelphia'ssecond-period play. "We just keep plugging away at it - and itmight take a while to get them to break down and get someopportunities."


Jones kept the pressure on in the third period, accepting abeautiful feed from Carter and depositing it over the leftshoulder of Hedberg to provide a 4-0 cushion.


Hedberg, who was drafted by the Flyers in 1994, finished with 29saves.


"We can't just lay down and die and think that someone is goingto pull us out," Hedberg said of the team's winless start. "Wehave to come back to work tomorrow, learn from what happenedtoday and move on."


Marian Hossa, who missed Atlanta's last three games with a groininjury, hit the crossbar with 12 minutes remaining in the firstperiod. Hossa played just over 20 minutes and had four shotson goal.

 

NHL: ATLANTA at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Atlanta 0 0 0 --0
Philadelphia 0 3 1 --4
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: B Holik, Atl (holding), 0:29; J Smith, Phi
(hooking), 6:44; S Hartnell, Phi (hooking), 14:47; S Hartnell, Phi
(hooking), 19:06.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Philadelphia, Mike Richards 3 (Joffrey
Lupul, Daniel Briere), 1:21. 2, Philadelphia, Jeff Carter 4 (Scott
Hartnell, Joffrey Lupul), 12:56. 3, Philadelphia, Sami Kapanen 2 (R.J.
Umberger), 13:30. Penalties: I Kovalchuk, Atl (hooking), 10:40; R
Jones, Phi (hooking), 14:07; K Klee, Atl (hooking), 18:54.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Philadelphia, Randy Jones 1 (Jeff Carter),
8:09. Penalties: J Smith, Phi (holding stick), 14:31.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Atlanta 9 10 12 --31
Philadelphia 12 14 7 --33
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Atlanta - 0 of 5, Philadelphia - 0 of 3.
Goalies : Atlanta, Johan Hedberg (33 shots, 29 saves; record: 0-2-0).
Philadelphia, Martin Biron (31 shots, 31 saves; record: 4-1-0). A:
18,933. Referees: Dennis Larue, Kelly Sutherland. Linesmen: Ryan
Galloway, Thor Nelson.</div>

 

NHL: ATLANTA at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------
ATLANTA 0 0 0 --0
PHILADELPHIA 0 3 1 --4
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: B Holik, Atl (holding), 0:29; J Smith, Phi
(hooking), 6:44; S Hartnell, Phi (hooking), 14:47; S Hartnell, Phi
(hooking), 19:06.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Philadelphia, Mike Richards 3 (Joffrey
Lupul, Daniel Briere), 1:21. 2, Philadelphia, Jeff Carter 4 (Scott
Hartnell, Joffrey Lupul), 12:56. 3, Philadelphia, Sami Kapanen 2 (R.J.
Umberger), 13:30. Penalties: I Kovalchuk, Atl (hooking), 10:40; R
Jones, Phi (hooking), 14:07; K Klee, Atl (hooking), 18:54.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Philadelphia, Randy Jones 1 (Jeff Carter),
8:09. Penalties: J Smith, Phi (holding stick), 14:31.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
ATLANTA 9 10 12 --31
PHILADELPHIA 12 14 7 --33
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: ATL - 0 of 5, PHI - 0 of 3. Goalies : Atlanta,
Johan Hedberg (33 shots, 29 saves; record: 0-2-0). Philadelphia,
Martin Biron (31 shots, 31 saves; record: 4-1-0). A: 18,933.
Referees: Dennis Larue, Kelly Sutherland. Linesmen: Ryan Galloway,
Thor Nelson.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

ATLANTA PHILADELPHIA
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
B Little 0 0 even 4 J Dowd 0 0 +1 1
E Perrin 0 0 -2 2 S Gagne 0 0 even 3
T White 0 0 -1 0 S Ruzicka 0 0 even 0
V Kozlov 0 0 -3 1 J Lupul 0 2 +2 7
B Holik 0 0 -1 1 J Carter 1 1 +2 3
I Kovalchuk 0 0 -1 3 M Richards 1 0 +1 4
M Hossa 0 0 -2 4 S Hartnell 0 1 +2 1
G Exelby 0 0 -1 0 D Hatcher 0 0 +1 0
B Sterling 0 0 even 0 R Umberger 0 1 +1 4
K Klee 0 0 -1 4 J Smith 0 0 +1 0
J Slater 0 0 -1 2 M Knuble 0 0 even 2
N Havelid 0 0 -2 1 S Kapanen 1 0 +2 2
B Larsen 0 0 even 1 L Kukkonen 0 0 +1 2
D Haydar 0 0 even 0 R Cote 0 0 even 0
T Enstrom 0 0 -1 2 K Timonen 0 0 +1 3
S McCarthy 0 0 -1 3 D Briere 0 1 +1 0
A Zhitnik 0 0 -2 2 B Coburn 0 0 +2 0
P Dupuis 0 0 -1 1 R Jones 1 0 +2 1
E Boulton HEALTHY J Boulerice SUSPENDED NHL
M Popovic HEALTHY B Eager DIZZINESS
C Thorburn HEALTHY</div>

 

NHL: ATLANTA at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">NHL ATLANTA AT PHILADELPHIA
NOTE: RESENDING BOX TO CORRECT PLUS/MINUS STATS FOR
THRASHERS HOLIK AND FLYERS RICHARDS.</div>