Flyers Get 1st Playoff Win

Philadelphia coach Bill Barber spent the past day agonizing over whether to put defenseman Andy Delmore into the Flyers lineup.

He did, and Delmore delivered Monday night proving once again what an important playoff performer he is. With the Flyers down two games to none in a first-round playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres, Delmore broke a tie with nine minutes left, leading the Flyers to a 3-2 victory.

"Call it lucky, call it what you want you want I guess, I don`t know," Barber said. "Having Delly in tonight rewarded our team with a win. He came up with obviously a big goal for us."

Game 4 of the best of seven series is Tuesday night at Buffalo. All three games of the series have been decided by one goal.

"It was really sweet," Delmore said. "From not playing the first two games to being able to help the team out and get a victory. What more can you ask for?"

Delmore didn`t find out he was playing -- in place of Chris McAllister, who struggled defensively in Saturday`s 4-3 overtime loss -- until about 90 minutes before game time.

"I was excited," added Delmore, who`s been known to produce in the playoffs before.

Last year, with the Flyers trailing Pittsburgh 2-0 in a second-round series, Delmore scored in overtime in Game 3 and then scored three times in Game 5 as Philadelphia eventually beat the Penguins in six games.

Monday, Delmore`s goal came off the second of two blatant Sabres turnovers.

Flyers forward Daymond Langkow intercepted Rhett Warrener`s poor clearing attempt inside the Buffalo blue line. Langkow wristed the puck at the net where Delmore deflected it over the right shoulder of goalie Dominik Hasek.

"With less than 10 minutes to play, it`s not a play you should try to make," Warrener said. "I didn`t do it, and it kind of hurts right now."

Kent Manderville and Simon Gagne also scored for the Flyers, who had lost the first two games at home. Roman Cechmanek stopped 26 shots to record his first playoff victory.

Chris Gratton and Steve Heinze scored for the Sabres, who have only defeated the Flyers once in six meetings in the playoffs.

"We had three times the puck under control and we made turnovers. Our turnvovers made the difference," said Hasek, who faced only 19 shots. "They had only a few chances and they scored goals."

"We got a little reckless in the second and third period," added coach Lindy Ruff. "We had six or seven great chances and we made two big mistakes -- two turnovers."

Manderville`s goal which tied it 1-1 just 2:37 into the second period came after he intercepted Donald Audette`s clearing attempt through the middle of the ice.

After Heinze put the Sabres up 2-1 two minutes later, Gagne tied it again by slapping in a rebound off Keith Primeau`s shot that bounced off the post.

Primeau was playing his first game after missing three weeks with a sprained left knee.

"As important as this game was for us, it`s nullified if we don`t come ready to compete tomorrow," said Primeau, who didn`t back down from a hard-hitting style. "I expected to be bumped early, bumped often. ... The one good thing for me, the more times I got hit, the more my confidence grew."

Notes:
The Flyers went 1-for-2 on the power play, while the Sabres scored twice on three opportunities. ... Sabres C Erik Rasmussen, day to day with a slightly separated right shoulder, was replaced by LW Vladimir Tsyplakov, a healthy scratch in the first two games. ... The Sabres are 12-22 against the Flyers in the playoffs, 7-8 at Buffalo. ... With temperatures in Buffalo ranging between 30- and 80-degrees over the past week, the Sabres set up four large dehumidifiers outside HSBC Arena.

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

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News (AP)