Flyers Cut down By Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres netted an overtime goal to take a 2-0 lead in the first round playoff series against the Flyers.

Jay McKee managed just one goal during the regular season. He matched that total Saturday, giving the Buffalo Sabres control of their playoff series. McKee wristed a shot past Flyers goaltender Roman Cechmanek with 1:58 left in overtime to lift Buffalo to a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

"It was the biggest goal I ever scored," said McKee, who had never scored in 27 career playoff games and had just one goal in 74 appearances this season.

Game 3 is Monday night in Buffalo. In the second round of the playoffs last year, the Flyers won four straight against the Pittsburgh Penguins after losing the first two games at home.

But Philadelphia, which earned home-ice advantage in this series by beating the Sabres 2-1 in Buffalo on the last day of the regular season, is 2-8 overall when it loses the first two games of a playoff series.

"It`s a disappointing loss," Flyers forward John LeClair said. "We`re in a bit of a hole, but it`s not impossible to climb out of. We found that out last year."

Buffalo`s Dominik Hasek made 32 saves, and Curtis Brown scored the game-tying goal early in the third.

Cechmanek, who allowed a total of just two goals in a four-game sweep of Buffalo in the regular season, stopped 37 shots.

As the fast-paced overtime neared end, McKee took a pass from Erik Rasmussen and wristed the puck just inside the far post.

"I just hopped on the ice after a line change and I started going hard into the zone," McKee said. "I got a great pass from Erik. I was just hoping for a rebound, but I was lucky to catch the far side."

Philadelphia had taken a 3-2 lead by scoring two goals in 1:41 of the second.

LeClair took a lead pass from Derek Plante, streaked down the left wing and fired a shot from just outside the right faceoff circle through Hasek`s five-hole to tie it at 2.

Mark Recchi stuffed the puck between Hasek`s legs after Michal Sykora fired a shot that hit Sabres defenseman Richard Smehlik in the chest and landed in front of the net, giving the Flyers a 3-2 lead with 4:37 left in the second.

But Brown tied the game after winning a faceoff, skating around two defensemen and wristing a shot past Cechmanek 3:09 into the third.

"The teams are so tightly matched that you could probably play for days and come out of it up one or down one," Brown said.

Hasek denied Dean McAmmond on a breakaway midway through overtime and made sprawling saves on Rick Tocchet and Ruslan Fedotenko.

"He kept them in the game," Flyers coach Bill Barber said. "We had some real good opportunities and couldn`t put it away."

Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead when Daymond Langkow scored during a two-man advantage in the first.

Miroslav Satan tied it at 1 on a power-play goal just 47 seconds into the second.

The Sabres took a 2-1 lead on a fluke goal by Alexei Zhitnik that deflected off Dan McGillis` skate and between Cechmanek`s legs midway through the second.

McAmmond nearly won it in regulation, but his shot hit the crossbar.

Cechmanek, the first NHL goaltender to beat Hasek four times in one season, made several key saves in the second period, including two point-blank stops that followed giveaways in the Flyers` zone.

"He played an outstanding game," Hasek said of Cechmanek, his backup on the 1998 Olympic champion Czech Republic team.

"You can`t blame Roman for any of the goals."

Notes:
The game was interrupted for nine minutes midway through the first period after a pane of glass along the boards near the penalty box was shattered by a shot from Philadelphia center Kent Manderville. It didn`t appear anyone was hurt. ... Flyers center Keith Primeau, out with a knee injury, said he will practice Sunday and might play in Game 3. ... Cechmanek made two of his trademark deflection saves off his helmet on shots in the first period and overtime. ... Philadelphia is 0-5 in overtime playoff games at the First Union Center.

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

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Author: 6 ABC Action News (AP)