Oct 13, 2008 10:00 pm US/Eastern
Canadiens Score 44 Seconds Apart To Beat Flyers
Canadiens 5, Flyers 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ―
Roman Hamrlik and Michael Komisarek scored goals 44 seconds apart in the third period, helping the Montreal Canadiens rally to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 on Monday night.
The Canadiens could have used some of that quick scoring in last season's playoffs when they were bounced by the Flyers in the second round. Flyers goalie Martin Biron was a postseason star last season, but his early struggles this season are one reason why they have dropped their first two games -- both at the Wachovia Center.
Jeff Carter and Mike Richards scored the final two goals of the second to lift the Flyers to a 2-1 lead going into the third.
Hamrlik, though, erased the lead when he took a nifty pass from Alex Kovalev and slid the puck past Biron from the left slot.
Komisarek then gave Montreal the lead for good, when his shot from the point bounced over Biron to make it 3-2.
Biron was benched late in the first period in Saturday's opener against the Rangers after he allowed four fast goals. Biron solidified himself as the Flyers' No. 1 goalie last season when he took them to the Eastern Conference finals a year after they posted the worst record in the NHL.
The Flyers need him to regroup on a tough three-game road trip or risk getting buried early in the standings.
Robert Lang scored with 6:20 left for a 4-2 lead, a huge goal needed to stave off Philly's comeback.
Simon Gagne, who's looked sharp early after missing most of last season with a concussion, scored his second goal of the season to slice the deficit to one. He scored on the power play, knocking in a rebound off the skate of Carey Price.
Steve Begin added an empty-netter in the final minute.
Price made 29 saves for Montreal. Price was 3-0 with a 1.34 GAA against the Flyers last season, then went 1-3 with a 4.13 GAA against them in the playoffs.
The Canadiens are 7-0-1 in their past eight regular-season games in Philadelphia.
After a scoreless first period, Sergei Kostitsyn scored only 54 seconds into the next on a snap shot on the glove side. The scoring opportunity was created when Richards was hit at the blue line, freeing the puck.
Carter tied the score less than 2 minutes later, and Richards added his second goal of the season when he ripped in the puck on the power play.
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