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Gagne's second goal in OT ends Flyers' home skid

Feb 11, 2007 - 5:31 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Simon Gagne's first two-goal performance this week was not enough to produce a home win for the Philadelphia Flyers. The same cannot be said for his second.

Gagne tied the game with less than five minutes remaining in the third period and ended it 27 seconds into overtime, giving the Flyers their first home victory in more than two months, a 4-3 triumph over the St. Louis Blues.

Entering with a franchise-record 13-game home losing streak, Philadelphia appeared on the verge of extending the dubious run when rookie David Backes scored at 6:33 of the third to give St. Louis a 3-2 edge. But the Flyers called upon Gagne to bounce back, and their lone All-Star did not disappoint.

"It happens sometimes," Gagne said of his second straight two-goal game. "You're at the net at the right time. The chances have been there lately, and when you're there at the right time and the puck ends up on your side, you wind up scoring. It's about timing sometimes."

With 4:55 remaining in the period, Gagne redirected a pass by defenseman Derian Hatcher past goaltender Curtis Sanford while standing in the crease for his 27th tally of the season and fourth in as many games.

"When you lose three games in four nights, you have to battle through the cloud that may be there," Flyers coach John Stevens said. "It seemed like once we got down, that's when we started digging to get after it and we started to get after loose pucks. It felt really good to come back and get it tied."

With Philadelphia on the power play in the extra session thanks to a holding penalty on Petr Cajanek, Gagne cashed in again, punching in a loose puck from the right side of the net to give the Flyers their first win at Wachovia Center since a 3-2 victory over Columbus on November 24.

"I gave a big call to Mike (Knuble) that I was open on the side of the net," Gagne said. "I just pushed the puck to my side and their goalie was in the middle of the net. I had the whole side of the net open, so I just had to tap it in."

"I was expecting a shot (by Knuble)," Sanford said. "I was covering the short side and then Gagne tipped it in. It was the last thing I was expecting. There was a big body in front and I knew a shot was coming. I went down and the puck got tangled up in his feet."

Blues coach Andy Murray offered no excuses for the call on Cajanek in the final seconds of the third.

"We put ourselves in a position where they could make the call because we had one hand on the stick and we were reaching," Murray said. "Whethere you like the call or not, we put ourselves in the position where the referee could make the call."

Making his first appearance as a Flyer since being claimed off waivers from Nashville on January 11, Michael Leighton made 25 saves, including 11 in the third period as Philadelphia won for just the third time in 16 games overall.

"The first five minutes, I was a little shaky," admitted Leighton, whose only other appearance this season came on December 21 with the Predators. "My legs were a little like Jell-O. The team played great in front of me. That gives you a lot of confidence when you're playing. After that, I settled in pretty quick."

"He was solid," Stevens said. "He ventured out of the net a little bit, but it's hard when you haven't played in a while. He was confident when we told him he was playing and he felt good. I thought he looked pretty composed for not playing in a while."

Jeff Carter and Mike Richards also scored for the Flyers, who have won four straight meetings with the Blues.

"It feels great," Philadelphia captain Peter Forsberg said of ending the home skid. "I think everybody in the building felt the same way. We have been close so many times and we deserved to win. ... It's just fun to win a game at home after losing so many."

Keith Tkachuk had a goal and an assist and Doug Weight set up a pair of tallies for St. Louis, which has netted three goals or less in each of its last 10 contests.

"I think every team in the course of a season goes through it," said Blues All-Star Bill Guerin, who notched an assist. "It's tough, but every team goes through it. It's one of those things we need to get out of. We just need to get a little hungrier around the net."

After a scoreless first period, Lee Stempniak pounced on the rebound of defenseman Dennis Wideman's slap shot and buried it from in front during a 5-on-3 power play at 1:45 of the second for a 1-0 lead.

But Philadelphia bounced back with a pair of tallies to move ahead. Carter notched his fifth goal in seven games at 5:13, wristing a shot from the right faceoff dot on a man advantage that beat Sanford high to the glove side, and Richards backhanded in his own rebound 4:40 later for a 2-1 edge.

St. Louis drew even with 2:54 remaining in the period. After getting the puck behind the net, Tkachuk attempted a pass to Weight near the right goalpost. But the puck went past the veteran center, caroming off defenseman Denis Gauthier's skate and by Leighton for Tkachuk's third tally in five contests.

Shortly after Sanford denied Sami Kapanen's close-range shot in the third, Backes put the Blues ahead by racing down the slot and redirecting Radek Dvorak's pass from the right circle past Leighton. The tally was the second of Backes' career and first in 21 games.