Short-Staffed Flyers Tie Devils

With six key players out of the lineup, the Philadelphia Flyers thought this tie with the New Jersey Devils felt like a victory.

Tough guy Gino Odjick won the puck along the sideboards to set up Paul Ranheim`s goal with 1:26 left in the third period as the undermanned Flyers tied the Devils 1-1 Wednesday night.

"Any time you come in this building it`s a good tie," said Flyers goaltender Brian Boucher, who was pulled just seconds before the tying goal. "Hey, they`re a good home team and a good hockey club so we are pretty happy with the point we have now."

The goal prevented Devils goaltender Chris Terreri from recording his first shutout since Feb. 4, 1999, and it left coach Larry Robinson upset with the Stanley Cup champions.

"I don`t know if we were flat but we certainly didn`t play well," Robinson said. "We certainly didn`t deserve a 1-1 tie. We weren`t very good."

Sergei Brylin scored early in the first period for the Devils, who extended their unbeaten streak to six games (4-0-2)

On the tying goal, Odjick won the puck from two Devils along the left sideboards and sent a pass to defenseman Eric Desjardins coming down the middle. Desjardins` shot banged off the post but the rebound bounced out in front to Ranheim for his second goal of the season.

Odjick "took a hit to make a great play," Desjardins said. "I was waiting for a loose puck and when I saw it I just jumped on it. Finally, we got a bounce."

Said Ranheim: "When the net is that open you just don`t want to miss."

Boucher, who kept the Flyers in the game by making 32 saves, preserved Philadelphia`s four-game unbeaten streak by stopping Scott Gomez on a 3-on-1 break with about two minutes left in overtime.

"The puck hit off my toe and Luke [Richardson] made a great play coming back [on Brian Rafalski] because that was going to end it right there," Boucher said. "That was game-saver for us, a huge play."

Terreri also came up big in overtime on a huge slapshot by Dan McGillis with about a minute left. He faced five shots in overtime and finished with 28 saves.

"This feels like a loss," Devils captain Scott Stevens said. "They played a smart game with the injuries and we just didn`t put in the energy or effort. It`s disappointing and it`s unacceptable."

The game was the first between the teams since the Devils beat the Flyers 2-1 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final.

Neither team looked the same.

New Jersey is still playing without defenseman Scott Niedermayer and center Jason Arnott, who are unsigned.

With John LeClair, Mark Recchi, Rick Tocchet, Keith Primeau, Keith Jones and Chris Therien all sidelined with injuries, the Philadelphia lineup looked more like the minor-league Phantoms than the Flyers.

Brylin scored his fifth goal of the season on the Devils` first shot of the game.

Gomez beat Daymond Langkow on a faceoff and got the puck back to defenseman Ken Sutton. His shot from the point was blocked, but Alexander Mogilny and Gomez nudged the puck to an open Brylin for a backhander past a prone Boucher.

The Flyers had a goal disallowed by referee Kevin Pollock early in the second period. Todd Fedoruk, who was called up from the Phantoms roster, shoved a Devils` defenseman into Terreri, knocking the goal just off its moorings. He then fired the puck into the net but it was waved off immediately.

Notes:
The teams combined for two penalties . ... Devils forward Steve Kelly left the ice for about 10 minutes in the first period after being cut in the face by a puck. ... Devils forward Petr Sykora returned to the lineup after missing three games with a groin injury. ... The Devils, now owned by an affiliate of YankeeNets, aired a commercial on the scoreboard showing the Yankees winning the World Series. It drew as many boos as cheers.

Copyright 2000 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: AP