Devils lead Flyers by three points

Madden scored with 47 seconds left in the third period as the New Jersey Devils edged the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 Saturday.

"I saw Randy McKay going hard to the net and I knew it was a difficult pass for me to make," Madden said. "I knew I had to be perfect. Then I heard Bobby Holik yell `Just shoot it,` and I just threw it on the net."

The Devils won their seventh straight game -- a season high -- to increase their Atlantic Division lead to three points over the Flyers.

Madden`s shot from the front of the left circle bounced off the left pad of goalie Roman Cechmanek.

"I got real lucky," Madden said. "I may have caught Cechmanek cheating a little bit and it just popped into the net."

It was the 20th goal for the defensive-minded forward, topping the 16 scored in his rookie season last year.

"No one thought going into this season that John would score 20 plus goals," McKay said. "It`s great for him."

Andy Delmore`s long power-play goal midway through the third period lifted the Flyers into a 2-2 tie. Delmore scored when his slap shot from just inside the blue line deflected off a New Jersey stick in front and sailed over goalie Martin Brodeur.

Brian Rafalski and Holik broke out of scoring slumps with goals 1:20 apart in the second period to give New Jersey a 2-1 lead.

"It`s important to play well against the Flyers because there`s a good chance we`ll play them in the playoffs," said Brodeur, who made 24 saves. "They are a great team and we`ll have to beat them to get to the Stanley Cup."

Mark Recchi scored the other goal for the Flyers, who had won their previous two games.

Philadelphia coach Bill Barber was not discouraged by the loss.

"I think a good message was sent today with how we competed," Barber said. "They do have a great hockey team. They came at us hard and we were down by one but we found a way to tie the game. We made a giant step today."

Recchi put the Flyers ahead 1-0 on a power play at 4:40 of the opening period when his shot from the slot clanged off the crossbar and rolled off Brodeur`s back into the net.

Rafalski made it 1-1 at 9:05 of the second with his first goal in 25 games. Skating on a 3-on-2 break with Scott Gomez and Jim McKenzie, Rafalski put the puck between the legs of Flyers` defenseman Luke Richardson and past Cechmanek.

Holik scored unassisted at 10:25 when he picked up a loose puck in the slot and ripped it through a screen. It was his first goal in 16 games.

The Flyers missed a scoring opportunity early in the third period when a shot by Rick Tocchet hit the crossbar.

"I think the guys are bummed a little bit by the loss, but it`s not devastation," Tocchet said. "The second period is a period we all wish we could take back. We ran around a bit and they kind of dominated. Then we came back in the third. It`s a lesson for us."

Game notes
The game had 70 minutes in penalties and five fights, three of them coming in the third period when McKenzie received a game misconduct for his third of the game. ... Cechmanek has started every home game (19) since Barber was named coach of the Flyers. The first-year goalie is 14-3-2 during the stretch. ... New Jersey, which played the first of a five-game road trip, won the season series 2-1-2. ... Brodeur has played 62 games, more than any other NHL goalie. ... Keith Primeau`s assist on Recchi`s goal gave him 52 points in 38 games under Barber.

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News (AP)