Flyers Stay in 5th in Playoff Chase

Barrie broke a 1-1 tie at 9:20 of the third by scoring from the side of the net after Philadelphia`s Daymond Langkow whiffed in an attempt to clear a centering pass from Denis Shvidki.

Michal Sykora scored for the Flyers, who remained one point behind Buffalo for fourth place and home-ice advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Each team has three games remaining including the season finale for both teams Sunday at Buffalo.

Florida snapped a two game losing streak but remained unbeaten in its last five road games (3-0-2).

The Flyers hammered Trevor Kidd for 40 shots but the Panthers goalie, making his first start in seven games, was equal to the task with a number of brilliant saves. His best came when he denied Mark Recchi on a breakaway late in the first period.

Bure broke his own Florida single-season record of 58 goals, set last season, when he scored at 6:47 of the second period on a short-handed breakaway.

Bure stripped Recchi at center ice, skated in, and wristed the puck between the pads of goalie Roman Cechmanek. Bure was stopped by Cechmanek on another short-handed breakaway late in the first period.

He is within one goal of becoming only the sixth player in NHL history to score 60 goals in three different seasons. He did it in back-to-back seasons with Vancouver (1992-93 and 1993-94).

Pittsburgh teammates Mario Lemieux (68) and Jaromir Jagr (62) were the last players to record at least 60 goals in 1995-96.

Sykora gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead a power play at 5:29 of the second period when his centering pass deflected off the skate of a Florida defenseman into the net.

Notes:
Jay Sharrers, a linesman since 1990, worked his first game as an NHL referee. A Flyers spokesman said that the league is researching whether Sharrers is the first black person to referee an NHL game. ... Cechmanek was selected by Philadelphia hockey writers as the Flyers MVP. ... Langkow returned to the lineup after missing 11 games with broken bones in both his feet. ... Philadelphia won the season series 3-1. ... Bure and D Robert Svehia are the only Panthers to appear in every game this season.

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News (AP)