Final
Flyers nip Sabres on Lecavalier's late strike
Jan 15, 2014 - 4:13 AM Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Vincent Lecavalier's goal with 14.8 seconds left in regulation capped a wild third period and sent Philadelphia to a 4-3 win over Buffalo on Tuesday.On the shift prior, Lecavalier's prayer from the left wing deflected off a Sabres stick, fooled Jhonas Enroth and almost crossed the goal line. As time wound down in regulation, Matt Read fished a loose puck out of a scrum at the left post and dished back to the veteran, who ended a 13-game scoring drought with a rising shot from the bottom of the circle.
"They've been hard to come by since I came back from my injury," Lecavalier said. "I'm just getting more confidence to keep going."
Brayden Schenn and Scott Hartnell also lit the lamp in a three-goal third period for the Flyers, who picked up a crucial road victory after dropping games over the weekend to the Lightning and Rangers.
Steve Mason did just enough to snag the win, making 16 saves.
Cody Hodgson, Matt D'Agostini and Tyler Ennis tallied for the Sabres, whose eight-game home point streak (6-0-2) came to an end.
Steve Ott chipped in two assists in defeat, while Enroth stopped 29 shots.
"He's been our best player when he's played; we just haven't gotten him the goals," said D'Agostini.
Buffalo got on the board at 6:59 of the first period, when Ott split a seam with a pass from the left-wing boards and Hodgson skated up the middle and beat Mason with a low shot inside the right post.
Enroth kept the visitors off the board minutes later by diving out and stopping a Claude Giroux backhander with the heel of his blocker.
He was helpless as Jakub Voracek converted a Wayne Simmonds dish from his usual perch in the right circle to cap a power play and tie the game 1:40 into the second.
Buffalo began to carry the play in the final frame, and the effort paid off. Seconds after Ott broke in and rang a shot off the crossbar, he picked up the puck along the right-wing boards and fed a charging D'Agostini to put the Sabres up 2-1 at 6:27 of the third period.
Schenn beat Enroth with a turnaround shot near the right post to even the score with 6:32 on the clock, and the visitors took the lead on a subsequent power play.
Only 47 seconds after Zenon Konopka plowed into Mason to draw an interference penalty, Hartnell finished off a three-way passing play with Giroux and Simmonds for s 3-2 Flyers' edge with 4:07 remaining.
But Ennis countered from a bad angle on the right wing, slipping a shot through Mason's pads to knot the contest less than a minute later.
Game Notes
The Flyers picked up their eighth win this season after trailing at some point in the third period, one away from the franchise record of nine set in their Eastern Conference title season of 1996-97 ... Having picked up a pair of assists, Hartnell recorded his 25th career three-point game ... Lecavalier hadn't scored since a 4-2 loss at Tampa Bay on Nov. 27 ... A whopping 23 of the Sabres' 45 games this year have been decided by one goal, and the club fell to 9-9-5 in such contests this season ... Read returned to the lineup after a six-game absence due to a concussion.
- PHILADELPHIA: 4
BUFFALO: 3
Final
Jan 14 10:13 PM - Philadelphia Goal - Vincent Lecavalier (10), from Matt Read and Sean Couturier at 19:45.
Flyers 4, Sabres 3 3rd - 0:15Jan 14 10:09 PM - Philadelphia Power-Play Goal - Scott Hartnell (11), from Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux at 15:53.
Flyers 3, Sabres 2 3rd - 4:07Jan 14 10:01 PM - PHILADELPHIA: 1
BUFFALO: 1
End of 2nd
Jan 14 9:13 PM - Philadelphia Power-Play Goal - Jakub Voracek (13), at 1:40.
Flyers 1, Sabres 1 2nd - 18:20Jan 14 8:37 PM - PHILADELPHIA: 0
BUFFALO: 1
End of 1st
Jan 14 8:15 PM - PHILADELPHIA: 0
BUFFALO: 0
1st Period - 20:00
Jan 14 7:39 PM
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