Flyers rally past Devils, move into tie for seventh in East

By Bud L. Ellis

Mired in the logjam fighting for the final three playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, every point in the standings is critical.

The Philadelphia Flyers realize that, and that’s why Monday’s come-from-behind victory over New Jersey was all the more important.

Mike Richards blasted home the game-winner with 7:58 remaining, the Flyers rallying from an early 2-0 deficit to defeat New Jersey 3-2 at the Wachovia Center.

Kimmo Timonen fed Richards, who beat future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur to give Philly a 3-2 lead at the 12:02 mark of the third period. Michael Leighton then made it hold up for the Flyers, who moved into a tie for seventh with Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference standings with 61 points, one behind sixth-place Montreal.

Zach Parise and Anssi Salmela – the later acquired from Atlanta as part of last week’s blockbuster Ilya Kovalchuk trade – scored to give the Devils a 2-0 lead. Philly started its comeback with a James van Riemsdyk goal at 18:24 of the second. Jeff Carter tied the game just 1:12 later to make it 2-2.

Chris Pronger tallied two assists for the Flyers, who go for a home-and-home sweep of a mini-series with the Devils on Wednesday in New Jersey.

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Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 6:19 pm by bud

Tags: Anssi Salmela, Chris Pronger, Ilya Kovalchuk, James van Riemsdyk, Jeff Carter, Kimmo Timonen, Mike Richards, Montreal Canadians, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Zach Parise