Recchi Returns with a Bang

Mark Recchi was just glad to be back on the ice. After missing nine games with a concussion and wondering whether he`d ever play again, Recchi scored his first goal of the season in overtime as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 Wednesday night.

"It never seemed like I would get better, but in the last 10 days I felt better," Recchi said. "It`s a nice way to come back, that`s for sure."

Philadelphia`s Keith Primeau skated from behind the net and passed to Recchi, who slapped a shot past goalie Curtis Joseph at 3:26 of overtime.

The game was Recchi`s first since Oct. 21. He sustained a concussion in the season opener against Vancouver, played three of the next seven, then sat out the next nine.

"I`ve missed some games before, but nothing like this," Recchi said. "It took me a period and a half to get rid of the butterflies. By the third period, I was feeling good, and by overtime I was at full stride."

Primeau said Recchi was a catalyst all night. "He generated a lot of offensive opportunities, and that`s what we`ve been waiting for," Primeau said. "We`ve battled hard without our skill guys, and we`ve been waiting for them to come back and bring our level up, and that`s what Rex did tonight."

Flyers goalie Roman Chechmanek stopped 30 shots and improved to 4-1-1 for a team that is just 7-7-4.

"Roman`s on a bit of a roll, so we are going to stick with him," Philadelphia coach Craig Ramsey said.

Joseph, who has allowed just six goals in his last five games, made 29 saves.

The game was a contrast to previous battles between the Eastern Conference rivals. There were no fights and only three minor penalties.

"Last year it was a more of a brawl-filled, rack him, hack him game," Joseph said. "It was a relatively tame game by Philadelphia-Toronto standards."

Toronto`s Darcy Tucker made a steal and scored an unassisted goal at 17:50 of the first period.

Just 12 seconds later, Philadelphia`s Ruslan Fedotenko banged in his own rebound after receiving a pass from Rick Tocchet.

Toronto`s Mats Sundin, who wore a visor to protect a 15-stitch gash he got when he was hit in the face by a puck on Saturday, missed a couple of good scoring chances.

"The visor was a pain, but I felt good," Sundin said. "I wouldn`t blame it on that."

Notes:
Recchi had 91 points last season. ... Toronto`s Steve Thomas has just one goal in 15 games. ... There were no penalties in the first period. ... Philadelphia left wing John LeClair has resumed practicing after undergoing back surgery Oct. 21. His target return date is Nov. 22. ... Attendance was 19,276.

(Copyright 2000 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: AP