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Upshall, Richards keep Flyers unbeaten at home

Nov 13, 2007 - 4:12 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia Flyers have certainly enjoyed home cooking this season.

Scott Upshall had two goals and Mike Richards' shorthanded goal in the third period stood up as the game-winner as the Flyers defeated the New York Islanders, 3-2, on Monday in a battle of Atlantic Division rivals.

Philadelphia remained perfect at home, winning all six games at the Wachovia Center this season. It is the Flyers' best start at home in 21 years, when they opened the 1986-87 season by winning eight straight in the City of Brotherly Love. That team eventually reached the Stanley Cup Finals, falling to Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.

Richards noted the impact the crowd had on the Flyers.

"It's nice to have 19,000 cheering for you like they did tonight," Richards said. "It was a tough game and we fed off the crowd giving us the energy we needed to win the game."

With the game tied at 2-2 and Philadelphia shorthanded in the third period, Richards gained the puck at center ice, skated up the wing and converged on Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro. After Richards' first shot was denied by the netminder, the Flyers' leading scorer followed up his shot and sent the puck between DiPietro's legs for his 10th goal of the season.

"I was late coming back into the zone," Richards said. "I just threw it at the net and the rebound just came right on my stick." "He just kept whacking at it and it finally went in," DiPietro said. "You don't like to give up too many odd-man rushes on the power play and it ended up costing us."

It was the third shorthanded goal this season for Richards, who credited the abilities of his fellow penalty-killers for his success.

"I think that it's just a team thing," Richards said. "It's everybody playing on the same system and it's not giving the opposition time to make plays. In doing so, we turn a lot of pucks over and get a lot of odd-man rushes from it."

Flyers coach John Stevens said that Richards has quickly become one of the league's best when the team is shorthanded.

"He is a terrific play and he's got great instincts," Stevens said. "He's a big game player and he came through again tonight."

Martin Biron made it stand up, stopping 24 shots to improve to 6-0 at home.

"It was something that we talked about going into this stretch against your own division," Biron said of the Flyers' home success. "To win games against Pittsburgh and the Islanders, it gives a bit of a boost going into the rest of the week."

Upshall opened the scoring just past the midway point of the first period.

After defenseman Braydon Coburn blasted the puck in the left corner, Richards gained control and maneuvered in back of the net. Richards absorbed the hit of former Flyer Ruslan Fedotenko and fed Upshall in the slot, who beat DiPietro between the legs to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead.

Journeyman Mike Sillinger, who played with the Flyers from 1997-99, leveled the game at 1-1 against his former team just 5:06 into the second period.

Sillinger received a pass from Richard Park in the right faceoff circle and backhanded a shot between the legs of Biron.

"The difference was the special team," Sillinger said. "We gave up the shorthanded goal and I don't think that we were sharp on the power play. It was a hard fought game, and if there was one area where we lost the game, it was special teams."

Upshall scored his second goal of the night, thanks to a beautiful feed from Jeff Carter and a misstep from defenseman Bruno Gervais in neutral ice. As Gervais fell behind Upshall, the former first-round selection in 2002 skated in and backhanded the puck past DiPietro for a 2-1 advantage.

"On a move like that, you're just looking to slide the puck on the short side of the net," Upshall said. "You're not going to have a lot of room on NHL goalies nowadays. You really got to make your move and get it in as soon as you can."

It was Upshall's first multi-goal game of his career. And he said it came just at the right time.

"It's been a long time waiting," Upshall said. "It feels good to score goals. I want to contribute the best that I can. Tonight was a big win for our team and I was glad to apart of it."

Chris Simon evened the contest with his first tally of the season with 1:43 remaining in the period.

Miroslav Satan blasted a shot in the slot which Biron couldn't cleanly handle. The puck rested on the goal line, and Simon alertly tapped it into the net to tie the game at 2-2.

It was Simon's first goal since March 8 against the New York Rangers. Ironically, it was also the last game he played that season. He was suspended 25 games for a hit on Ryan Hollweg later in the game.

DiPietro finished with 14 saves for the Islanders, who saw a four-game win steak come to an end.

"It evaluate your play in terms of wins and losses," Sillinger said. "We had a good thing going. Now it's a true test on the road and tonight was a tough loss."