• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Briere, Timonen fuel surging Flyers

Jan 17, 2008 - 4:27 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Daniel Briere had two goals and All-Star defenseman Kimmo Timonen had a tally and two assists as the Philadelphia Flyers benefited from a four-goal first period and held on for a 5-3 victory over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.

The Flyers improved to 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, moving within two points of the first-place New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins in the Atlantic Division.

"You need to bring your 'A' game if you want to make the playoffs," Timonen said. "The last 10 games, we've realized that. You can't win one game and then take two games off. Everybody has been playing hard and playing for the team."

"It was a good feeling especially in front of our fans," Briere said. "Everybody knows that our last eight or 10 games haven't been the best at home. It was nice to come out and take it to them in the first period."

Coach Jacques Martin was denied his 500th victory as the Panthers lost for the fifth time in their last six contests.

"The first 10 minutes cost us the game," Martin said. "We were having a good game and then the penalties cost us. They got two power-play goals and they got the momentum."

Timonen opened the scoring just 2:46 into the game, wristing a shot from a sharp angle which deflected off the shoulder of former teammate Tomas Vokoun for his seventh goal of the season.

After defenseman Jay Bouwmeester leveled the game just 6 1/2 minutes later, Simon Gagne regained the lead for the Flyers, corralling a rebound on the doorstep and backhanding it past the All-Star netminder for a power-play goal.

"I didn't feel too bad," said Gagne who has recorded a point in all four games since he returned to the lineup following the lingering effects of a concussion. "I've felt good on the power play and I feel that I'm getting skill back - and that's a good thing."

Briere increased the Flyers' lead to 3-1 with another power-play goal.

With Philadelphia on a 4-on-3 power play, Briere gained possession of the puck at the top of the left faceoff circle, skated into the slot uncontested and wristed the puck past Vokoun.

"It seems that we've been having a good mix of guys that complement each other well," Briere said. "Since the start of the season, we've clicked and chemistry has a lot to do with it,"

Scott Hartnell pushed Philadelphia's lead to 4-1 just 81 seconds later.

With Philadelphia on an odd-man rush, Hartnell's centering feed hit Bouwmeester's stick and trickled past an out-of-position Vokoun for his 12th goal of the season.

"It was important to start off playing hard," Hartnell said. "We had the 4-1 lead in the first and it seems that we've always started off bad at home.

"The pucks have been going in. It just went off their defenseman and it went it. It seems like we're getting those breaks right now."

In the second period, Rostislav Olesz and Stephen Weiss scored 5 1/2 minutes apart to cut Philadelphia's lead to 4-3.

Florida couldn't net the equalizer, however, as Antero Niittymaki made several glittering stops in the third period.

"I'm pretty happy with the way I played when we get a win," Niittymaki said. "We had a pretty good lead, they came back, but we regrouped and we got a good two points."

The Finnish netminder's best save came midway through the third period, stopping Richard Zednik with the paddle of his stick to maintain Philadelphia's one-goal lead.

"It was kind of a desperate dive and you hope that it hits you," Niittymaki said. "You always look good when you make a save like that, but luck has a lot to do with that also."

"I thought that we battled back," Martin said. "They got the big save on Zednik which would have tied the game."

Briere added an empty-net goal with 38 seconds game to seal the victory.