Flyers 3 - 2 Panthers
Final
  for this game

Carter, Flyers bounce back with win over Panthers

Mar 16, 2011 - 5:27 AM Sunrise, FL (Sports Network) - Jeff Carter scored twice in the second period to lead Philadelphia past Florida, 3-2, at BankAtlantic Center.

Scott Hartnell picked up a first-period score for the Flyers, who rebounded from a collapse on Saturday to win for the third time in four.

Brian Boucher made 20 saves for Philadelphia, which maintained its one-point lead in the Eastern Conference over Southeast-leading Washington. The Capitals won in Montreal earlier Tuesday.

Stephen Weiss and Dmitry Kulikov for the Panthers, who slid to their seventh defeat in nine contests. Tomas Vokoun played well in the loss, stopping 28 shots.

"It's the little mistakes that come back to haunt us," Panthers center Marty Reasoner said.

Carter's wrister trickled off Vokoun's glove and slid over the goal line for a 2-2 game at 4:43 of the second period, and his second straight tally, from a 2-on-1 break, put the visitors ahead by one.

Danny Briere started the rush by tracking down a loose puck on the left wing, then waited until Vokoun committed to slide a pass to the right side where Carter hit a half-open net at 15:23.

Needing to guard against a meltdown which saw Atlanta score five times in the final 21-plus minutes to turn a 3-0 deficit into a 5-4 overtime victory three days ago, the Flyers buckled down in the third period, allowing just seven Florida shots.

The Panthers failed to generate any offense in the final 1:32 while skating with an extra attacker.

"We seemed to be in control after the second period," Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette said. "We played good defensively."

Philly took a 1-0 lead at 4:28 of the first, when Mike Richards managed to pull Vokoun well out of his crease to the right, before slipping a pass to Hartnell for a successful shot into the open net.

Florida equalized at 7:06 as Weiss ripped a shot over Boucher's glove from the left circle, then moved ahead by a goal with 1:49 to play in the first on Kulikov's right-point drive.

Game Notes

The Flyers won three of four from the Panthers this season, including both games in Sunrise...Prior to the contest, Philly announced that defenseman Chris Pronger has successful hand surgery and will miss 3-to-4 weeks...Carter posted his sixth multi-goal effort of the season and second in the last four games...Veteran forward Sergei Samsonov registered two assists for Florida...Philadelphia continues its three-game road trip at Atlanta on Thursday.






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